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| Fast Facts: Unemployment Insurance Benefits, Current Job Openings |
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| 12/15/2008 |
CONTACT: Craig Spivey
Public Affairs Specialist
WorkSource Oregon Employment Department
503-947-1303
craig.c.spivey@state.or.us
The Oregon Employment Department is responding to the current economic situation by providing more benefits to those who have become unemployed through no fault of their own, and by increasing efforts to connect job seekers with employers who have listed thousands of job openings with the state.
Unemployment Insurance
What benefits are available to Oregonians right now?
26 weeks regular claim ($113/week minimum, $482/week maximum)
33 weeks Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC ends March 2009)
13weeks Extended Benefits
72 weeks possible benefits
Initial claims for unemployment insurance benefits up 39 percent (294,590 in Nov ’08 compared to 179,106 in Nov ’07)
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Week ending Dec. 6
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Same week in 2007
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Oregonians receiving Regular Benefits
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96,037
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48,758
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Oregonians receiving Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC)
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23,330
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0
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Oregonians Exhausting Regular Benefits
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1,205
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653
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Oregonians Exhausting EUC benefits
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852
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0
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Benefits paid (EUC and Reg)
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$30,785,465.00
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$12,305,285.00
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Note: Preliminary numbers from the week ending December 13, 2008 show the number of Oregonians receiving regular benefits grew to 104,246.
Claim filing activity
| Week ending Dec. 13
| Nov. 2008
(month)
| Nov. 2007
(month)
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Calls to Unemployment Insurance Centers
| 23,0104
| 78,404
| 57,929
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| Week ending Dec 6
| Week ending Nov 29
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Initial claims filed online
| 6,868 (67%)
| 3,380 (54%)
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Initial claims filed by phone
| 3,350 (33%)
| 2,906 (46 %)
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To speed processing of unemployment insurance claims, the Oregon Employment Department has added staff to answer calls and has moved other staff to process claims during off hours. There are now two ways to file for a claim: on the Internet, or by telephone.
To file online, go to www.WorkingInOregon.org.
To file by telephone, call one the unemployment insurance centers servicing your area:
• Portland Metro and NW Oregon: 503-451-2400, or toll free 1-877-877-1781
• Eugene and SW Oregon: 541-686-7800 or toll free 1-877-728-7970
• Central and Eastern Oregon: 541-388-6207 or toll free 1-800-663-7914
For the shortest wait times, contact the unemployment insurance centers on Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday mornings.
Getting Oregonians Back to Work
The state workforce system, WorkSource Oregon, has seen a huge jump in registrations for its job-matching site: iMatchSkills.org.
New Registrations
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Dec 1 - Dec 7, 2008
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Dec 1 - Dec 7, 2007
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Increase from 2007 to 2008
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Nov 24 - Nov 30, 2008
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Nov 24 - Nov 30, 2007
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Increase from 2007 to 2008
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6,047
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3,284
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84%
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4,979
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3,117
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60%
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Despite the downturn in the employment picture, there are thousands of jobs available on iMatchSkills®. As of Friday, December 12, 2008 there were 6,536 openings posted:
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Top 10 Occupational Groups by Openings
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Openings
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Office and Administrative Support Occupations
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855
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Sales and Related Occupations
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577
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Farming, Fishing, and Forestry Occupations
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519
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Architecture and Engineering Occupations
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469
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Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations
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429
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Healthcare Support Occupations
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348
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Computer and Mathematical Occupations
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341
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Food Preparation and Serving Related Occupations
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295
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Business and Financial Occupations
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241
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Personal Care and Service Occupations
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219
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Top 10 Occupations by Number of Openings
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Openings
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Farmworkers and Laborers For Crops
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354
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Customer Service Representatives
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343
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Electronics Engineers, Except Computer
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250
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Registered Nurses
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206
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Retail Salespersons
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151
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Nursing Aides, Orderlies, and Attendants
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139
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Sales Representatives, Services, All Other
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128
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Home Health Aides
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122
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Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand
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118
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Personal and Home Care Aides
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117
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Job Seeker Services Available through WorkSource Oregon
*Services and support to prepare job seekers for their next job
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Skills assessment and improvement
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Job search and other work-related workshops
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Resume development
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Resource Rooms with computers, phones, and fax
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Labor market and career information
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Job finding tools and information
* Connecting to jobs
* Services for Veterans
* Services to Farm Workers
* Information on other resources and assistance in the community
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Housing, childcare, food banks, etc.
*Information on connecting to educational opportunities and apprenticeships
Employer Services
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Access to a large and diverse labor pool
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Development and posting of lob Listings
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Staff matching of job listings to the labor pool
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Interview rooms and recruitment assistance
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Rapid Response Activities such as layoff aversion assistance, layoff information and transition for employees, and other assistance to human resource staff
WorkSource Oregon is in the process of implementing a new skill assessment that will help job seekers determine their best fit for current openings, and what training they might need to make them more employable. Job seekers take a skill assessment and are then served by one of our partners to obtain needed training.
How to access these services:
Web: www.WorkSourceOregon.org, www.iMatchSkills.org, www.Employment.Oregon.gov
In person: Network of offices statewide, call 877-517-5627 for location information
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