PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — The jobless rate in Oregon is still pretty much the same as it was seven months ago, standing virtually unchanged in May at 10.6 percent.
Although the May unemployment rate is a point better than the 11.6 percent rate in May 2009, it has barely nudged since the end of last year.
And there was no gain in seasonally adjusted nonfarm payroll employment in Oregon for May, following a gain of about 5,500 jobs in April.
Nationally, the unemployment rate dropped just slightly to 9.7 percent in May from 9.9 percent in April.
Overall, the state showed some improvement over last year with about 203,000 Oregonians unemployed last month, compared to more than 223,000 in May 2009.
