Portland unemployment falls to national level


Portland’s unemployment rate fell to 9% in October, the same as the national rate.

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Portland’s unemployment rate fell to 9% in October, the same as the national rate.

Meanwhile, many rural Oregon counties still have high unemployment rates, with Crook County remaining the highest, at 15.8%.

Retailers in the Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro area added 1,500 jobs last month, the Oregon Employment Department reported Monday.

“That’s a little bit stronger and a little bit earlier than normal,” said Amy Vander Vliet, the agency’s regional economist in Portland.

Like many other states, Oregon, with 9.5 percent unemployment in October, remains stalled as the national economy exhausts stimulus spending and waits for consumers to open wallets. The chaos in Europe is weighing down expectations, with some saying it could trigger another U.S. recession.

Read more at OregonLive.com.

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