Central Oregon Unemployment Rates Move Down

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BEND, OR -- The seasonally adjusted unemployment rates for all three Central Oregon counties decreased in January. WorkSource Bend said Tuesday the unemployment rate in Jefferson County in January was 13.4%, a 0.9% drop from December's figures. In Deschutes County, the jobless rate moved down to 13.4%, a decrease of 1.2%. And Crook County's unemployment rate moved down to 15.9%, a drop of 1.9% in one month. Carolyn Eagan, regional economist, was a guest Wednesday morning on Wake Up Bend! She said the January numbers look much more typical for this time of year.

"Over the last two years, the job loss that we saw between December and January was much larger than normal; more than typical. And so it looks like, for January, we are returning to a more normal or more typical job fluctuation."

Revised unemployment figures also show that more jobs were lost in Central Oregon during 2009 than originally thought. And while Deschutes highest unemployment figure was moved lower slightly, Eagan said these numbers show last year was very hard on employees in our region.

"All three counties lost more jobs in a year, between 2008 and 2009, as a percentage than the state did. So, we defiantly felt the brunt of that job loss here in Central Oregon. And we knew that. We felt that as it was going through, so I don't think it was a surprise to anyone."

Eagan says the massive reduction in construction jobs hurt Central Oregon employment figures. Local February unemployment numbers will be released March 23rd.

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