Once again, Portland unemployment spike leads nation
Portland Business Journal
For the second consecutive month, the Portland metro area recorded the highest annual jump in unemployment in the nation, according to new data from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The area’s 6.7 percent increase in unemployment in May was slightly higher than Detroit (6.6 percent).
Last month, the Portland-Vancouver-Beaverton area recorded a 6.9 percent increase in unemployment, the highest of all 372 cities tracked by the federal government, including Detroit (6.6 percent) and Charlotte (6.4 percent).
The national unemployment rate is 9.4 percent.
Unemployment was higher in May in all 372 metro areas tracked by the federal agency.
Portland’s unemployment rate was 11.6 percent in May, up from 4.9 percent in May 2008.
Unemployment jumped significantly in all six Oregon metro areas:
Bend: From 6.4 percent to 15.2 percent.
Corvallis: From 3.5 percent to 8.4 percent.
Eugene: From 5.3 percent to 12.9 percent.
Medford: From 6.9 percent to 13.7 percent.
Salem: From 5.3 percent to 11.5 percent.
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