CONTACT: Tom Fuller 503.947.1301 Thomas.E.Fuller@state.or.us or Craig Spivey 503.947.1303 Craig.C.Spivey@state.or.us   This Week   2010 Last Week  2009 This Week  2010 Last Week 2009 Initial Claims 10, 285 14,258 11,164 15,908 Individuals on Regular Unemployment Benefits 107,536 124,371 108,314 120,612 Individuals on Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC) 97,875 31,279 97,734 30,756 Total individuals on unemployment benefits (including all programs) 214,844 160,522 215,319 155,774 Total benefit payments $65,091,192 $43,420,321 $65,303,740 $42,439,225 Unemployment Insurance trust fund balance (In millions) $960.25 $1,843 $980.34 $1,873.30 Average Unemployment Check $291.39 $281.73 $292.90 $283.60       The total number of initial claims fell for the second consecutive week and remained well below last year's numbers.  Initial claims dropped by 849 between week five and six of 2010, 3,973 less than in the same week a year ago. The total number of individuals on unemployment also declined slightly, but remained well above last year's figures. The 214,844 individuals claiming benefits are down by 475 from a week ago, but 54,322 more than the same week a year ago. More than half of the unemployment benefits paid out come from sources other than the unemployment insurance trust fund. Of the more than $65 million paid last week, less than $30 million was from the trust fund. Money to cover Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC), Extended Benefits (EB), and Federal Additional Compensation (FAC, the $25 per week addition to all unemployment claims) are all paid by the Federal Government. The Oregon Legislature is close to passing the Oregon Emergency Benefits (OEB) program. OEB would allow up to six weeks of additional benefits for individuals who have exhausted all benefits.  The Oregon Employment Department estimates 18,000 individuals will be covered over the life of the OEB program. On the employment side, iMatchSkills.org (a service of WorkSource Oregon) currently has 4,677 total job listings representing 11,073 job openings. You can view all job openings online at www.WorkingInOregon.org, click on “Browse Jobs" on the right-hand menu. -30- Get WorkSource Oregon news updates instantly by following @worksourcenews on Twitter