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It's a good news/bad news kind of story. But mostly bad.
Douglas County's unadjusted unemployment rate rose by just a tenth of a percentage point in August, but it's still a significant 15.6 percent.
That's the highest number for August since the Oregon Employment Department starting keeping track of jobless numbers back in 1958. And it's the second-highest rate in the state, behind only Crook County's rate of 16.9 percent
Douglas County's number has fallen below April's unadjusted peak rate of 17.2 percent, and that's a bit of good news. But just a bit. When last year's numbers for August are compared to this year, the most recent numbers are 6.1 percent higher than a year ago.
Among recent business closings announced in the county, the Weyerhaeuser Co. announced last week it will close its Wilbur utility pole plant, idling 16 workers. It's expected to take a month or more for the existing inventory to be sold off.
The employees will receive severance packages, unemployment benefits and will be extended health coverage. They will also be able to take advantage of education benefits through a program for displaced workers operated by the federal government and administered locally through Umpqua Training & Employment.
“It's an unfortunate situation,” said Norm Gershon, UT&E's president. “It's more job losses than we can afford.”
Another bright spot, if you can call it that for employees out of a job, is that Congress is in the process of working on legislation that would increase the length of time workers can collect unemployment benefits.
The 13-week extension, which has been passed in the House of Representatives and is pending in the Senate, would supplement the 26 weeks most states offer and existing federal extensions that have already increased the total to 53 weeks.
About 5 million people — one third of those on the unemployment rolls — have been without a job for more than six months. That's a record since data started being recorded in 1948, according to the National Employment Law Project, a research and advocacy group.
“It is an unthinkable number,” said Andrew Stettnew, the group's deputy director, who added in a recent Associated Press article that there are six jobless people for every vacant job in the country.
These are all unthinkable numbers. We keep hearing that the recession is ending, and we keep getting mixed economic messages.
We're told to tough it out, and we know how that works. Because when you have no choice, that's just what you do.
But looks we're not out of the woods yet. And those in the county looking for a job are in our thoughts as we wait for things to turn around.
Douglas County's unadjusted unemployment rate rose by just a tenth of a percentage point in August, but it's still a significant 15.6 percent.
That's the highest number for August since the Oregon Employment Department starting keeping track of jobless numbers back in 1958. And it's the second-highest rate in the state, behind only Crook County's rate of 16.9 percent
Douglas County's number has fallen below April's unadjusted peak rate of 17.2 percent, and that's a bit of good news. But just a bit. When last year's numbers for August are compared to this year, the most recent numbers are 6.1 percent higher than a year ago.
Among recent business closings announced in the county, the Weyerhaeuser Co. announced last week it will close its Wilbur utility pole plant, idling 16 workers. It's expected to take a month or more for the existing inventory to be sold off.
The employees will receive severance packages, unemployment benefits and will be extended health coverage. They will also be able to take advantage of education benefits through a program for displaced workers operated by the federal government and administered locally through Umpqua Training & Employment.
“It's an unfortunate situation,” said Norm Gershon, UT&E's president. “It's more job losses than we can afford.”
Another bright spot, if you can call it that for employees out of a job, is that Congress is in the process of working on legislation that would increase the length of time workers can collect unemployment benefits.
The 13-week extension, which has been passed in the House of Representatives and is pending in the Senate, would supplement the 26 weeks most states offer and existing federal extensions that have already increased the total to 53 weeks.
About 5 million people — one third of those on the unemployment rolls — have been without a job for more than six months. That's a record since data started being recorded in 1948, according to the National Employment Law Project, a research and advocacy group.
“It is an unthinkable number,” said Andrew Stettnew, the group's deputy director, who added in a recent Associated Press article that there are six jobless people for every vacant job in the country.
These are all unthinkable numbers. We keep hearing that the recession is ending, and we keep getting mixed economic messages.
We're told to tough it out, and we know how that works. Because when you have no choice, that's just what you do.
But looks we're not out of the woods yet. And those in the county looking for a job are in our thoughts as we wait for things to turn around.
