CONTACT:  Craig Spivey
Public Affairs Specialist
WorkSource Oregon Employment Department
503-947-1303
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Unemployment

The latest figures for Oregon's unemployment insurance program show a continuing decline in the number of claimants accessing the system.

The number of initial claims for unemployment benefits, the number of weeks of benefits claimed, and the number of individuals exhausting their regular benefits, has decreased over the month and year.

In September, there were 17% fewer initial claims filed than for the same time period last year, and 12% fewer than in August. The number of weeks of benefits claimed by individuals declined 28% from a year ago, and 25% from August. The number of people exhausting their regular claim dropped 38% in September from last year.

In addition, the number of people receiving extensions of benefits has decreased. Around a third of this decrease is due to people exhausting all available benefits. By the end of September, approximately 14,000 Oregonians had exhausted their unemployment insurance benefits in 2010.

Employment

According to a survey of households, Oregon's civilian labor force grew by 28,499 from September 2009 to September 2010.  During the same period, employment in Oregon rose by more than 33,000.

The Oregon Employment Department maintains the state's largest data base of job openings through iMatchSkills, a skills and job matching system.  Currently the department has 6,160 job listings representing 13,328 job openings.  This is almost 2,000 more job openings than in August.

The Oregon Employment Department through its WorkSource Oregon Centers and partnerships with other state and local agencies, offer a variety of programs and services to job seekers.  Job search assistance, help with resume and cover letter writing, job search workshops, and skills training are among the many programs available.
 

Job Listings	Top Openings by Industry
760	Office and Administrative Support
603	Sales
468	Healthcare Practitioners and Technical
368	Computer and Mathematical
363	Management
343	Food Preparation and Serving
336	Healthcare Support
266	Supervisory
255	Architecture and Engineering
239	Business and Financial

Job Listings	Top Openings by Occupation
178	Retail Salespersons
158	Customer Service Representatives
158	Registered Nurses
143	Nursing Aides, Orderlies, and Attendants
121	Truck Drivers, Heavy and Tractor-Trailer
110	Tellers
101	Supervisors and Managers of Retail Sales Workers
93	Sales Representatives, Services, All Other
83	Computer Software Engineers, Applications
77	Computer Systems Analysts