Oregon job gains ease recession worries
Posted by The Oregonian December 17, 2007 11:11AM
Categories: Top Stories
Fears of recession in Oregon diminished Monday as state economists said the state had not only gained jobs in November but also increased employment in October, contrary to earlier reports.
Oregon’s unemployment rate remained flat — at 5.5 percent, for both months — on a seasonally adjusted basis.
David Cooke, an Oregon Employment Department economist, said November’s increase of 7,500 in Oregon’s seasonally adjusted nonfarm employment is significant, especially following the gain of 3,200 jobs in October. Preliminary results for October, based on incomplete data, had shown a loss of 1,400 jobs.
Oregon’s total nonfarm seasonally adjusted employment stood at 1,737,900 last month.
“It really changes our view,” Cooke said. The growth, he said, “indicates that there’s been substantial economic strength in those two months in Oregon’s economy.”
Cooke said that October’s gain, instead of loss, could also change the prognosis of a University of Oregon economic index released last week, which suggested a recession was likely imminent in the state.
Not all the November numbers were positive, however. Retail holiday-related hiring increased, but not by as much as in each of the prior five years. Construction posted a seasonally adjusted job loss of 1,200. But seasonally adjusted employment in the closely watched sector remained above 100,000.
