SALEM, Ore. (AP) — Oregon's unemployment rate dropped below 9 percent in December for the first time in three years, but the total number of jobs has remained relatively flat for 10 months, state economists said Wednesday.
The jobless rate was 8.9 percent last month, the lowest it's been since November 2008. It ticked down slightly from 9.1 percent the month before but remained higher than the national unemployment rate of 8.5 percent.
Adjusted for seasonal fluctuations, the Oregon employers added 2,400 jobs in December after losing 1,100 the month before.
"We have made progress, and we still have more to do to get Oregonians back to work in all communities across the state," Gov. John Kitzhaber said in a statement.
Despite the improvement, nearly 176,000 people in Oregon who were looking for work remained unemployed. Excluding farm work and accounting for seasonal factors, the state Employment Department said the number of jobs has increased by just 4,600 since February 2011, or 0.3 percent. More than 1.6 million people are currently employed in Oregon.
Oregon's unemployment rate peaked at 11.6 percent in summer 2009. Participation in the labor force has declined since then, indicating part of the improvement in the unemployment rate has been a result of discouraged workers leaving the job market and the retirement of baby boomers, said David Cooke, an Employment Department economist.
"The economy in Oregon has been growing slowly through the last 10 months of 2011," Cooke said. "And several industries continue to employ a low number of workers as compared with the rapidly expanding economy of 2005 to 2007."
In particular, he said, manufacturing, construction and financial activities industries have showed sluggish job growth.
Last month's job gains were driven by the leisure and hospitality sector, which typically loses 2,200 jobs in December but instead added 500. The sector saw particularly strong growth in restaurant employment. Similarly, local governments eliminated fewer jobs than they typically do in December, creating a net gain in the seasonally adjusted numbers.
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