Jobless rate at lowest level in more than a year

The number of people working in Baker County swelled to the highest level of the year in June, with increases in nearly every employment category.

“Most of the indicators we track were up over the month in Baker County,” said Jason Yohannan, regional economist with the Oregon Employment Department.

June’s unemployment rates fell to their lowest levels in more than a year, at 8.5 percent non-adjusted and 9.7 percent seasonally adjusted. Yohannan said those figures are down from 8.7 percent and 10 percent respectively in May, and from 9.2 percent and 10.6 percent in June 2009.

“Unemployment is trending downward, which I think everyone can agree is good news,” Yohannan said.

In Baker County, the leisure and hospitality industry led the June increase with 40 more employees, for a total of 640 on the job at motels and hotels, restaurants, outdoor recreation and other leisure and hospital jobs.

Overall, 7,071 people were employed in Baker County in June, up from 6,970 from May. Yohannan said private sector employment increased 110 — from 5,320 to 5,430.

Construction employment rose from 200 to 220; transportation, utilities and warehouse employment rose by 10; and employment also rose by about 10 people in the professional and business services category, health care and in the federal and state employment.

From the numbers, Yohannan said it appears that Baker County’s recovery is picking up steam a little faster than the state or the nation.

Although December 2007 is listed as the official start of the recession nationally and statewide, Yohannan said “the recession didn’t really start in Baker County until the end of 2008 or early 2009.”

Local government employment, including public schools, which reported 20 fewer employees in June, was the only category where job numbers declined.

Yohannan said most of that drop involves part-time and temporary school positions, such as substitute teachers and others working without long-term contracts.

Generally, full-time teachers and school administrators are not counted as unemployed during the summer because they are employed and paid under 12-month contracts, Yohannan said.

No change in job numbers were reported in June in retail trade (700 workers), manufacturing at 530 workers, wholesale trade at 80, or logging and mining, at 20.

Although the overall increases in jobs is encouraging, Yohannan cautioned that the  numbers remain well below peak employment in Baker County recorded in 2008.

For example, total non-farm payroll is still about 260 jobs below the peak of 5,690 recorded in June 2008.