________ L
News
TI he CI ac I camas P rìnt
WEdNEsdAy, FEbRUARy 20, 2002
Oregon’s unemployment rate rises to 8.0 percent
for January; normal cuts more severe than usual
NICK BARRON
Business Manager
Oregon’s seasonally adjusted
unemployment rate continued to
climb in January to 8 percent, ac
cording to the Oregon Employment
Department.
The increase, up from the re
vised 7.8 percent figure for Decem
ber 2001, marks the 13 th consecu
tive month the state’s unemploy
ment rate has risen. Oregon’s un
employment rate fell to a low of 4.7
percent in December 2000, then
started nosing up in January 2001
to 4.9 percent.
The last time the state’s unem
ployment rate reached the 8 per
cent mark was January 1993, when
it crested at 8.1 percent. This is the
second-highest number of unem
ployed individuals ever, with
March 1983 holding the record with
173,300 Oregonians unemployed.
In January of this year, 161,300
Oregonians were unemployed,
compared with 104,800 last Janu
ary.
As for the nation, its unemploy
ment rate slid from 5.8 percent in
December to 5.6 percent in Janu
ary.
Each quarter, Oregon’s Depart
ment of Administration Services
issues a preliminary forecast for
employment figures. While the re
port for the current quarter has yet
to be issued, David Cooke, employ
ment economist for Oregon, be
lieves the report will not give un
employed Oregonians much hope.
“The report will call for employ
ment to essentially remain the same
for the rest of this quarter and the
next, with a growth of about 1.0
percent in the second and third
quarters,” said Cooke.
All major industries in Oregon
slashed jobs in January, the worst
hit industry being transportation
equipment, which lost 3,300 jobs.
While it is true that most indus
tries are forced to cut jobs the first
three months of the year, January’s
cuts were more severe than usual.
The lumber and wood products
industry lost 1,200jobs in January
for a number of reasons. Low
prices, less demand for non-resi-
dential construction and logging
restrictions on federal forests are
some of the grounds for the dis
missal of employees.
Due to the national recession
and a shift to foreign production,
the machinery industry let go of
2,900 jobs last month. The metal
industry, both primary and fabri
cated, has dropped a combined
total of3,000jobs, mostly because
of energy problems and a lack of
demand for capital goods and
transportation equipment.
Along with the release of its
January 2002 unemployment fig
ures, the employment department
announced its revised unemploy
ment numbers for previous years.
Each January, the department typi
cally releases revised figures for the
two prior years. The new numbers
show that the overall employment
level was stronger than originally
indicated in late 2000 and the ma
jority of 2001.
7o reach Nick Barron, e-mail
barronoru@hotmaU.com or drop by
B-104
Clackamas enrollment up 14.7 percent over same period in 2001
FRANKJORDAN
News Editor
Enrollment for fall term 2001 has
increased 14.7 percent over the
same period last year, according to
figures released by Clackamas
Community College last week.
With the economy in a downturn
and unemployment running at 8
percent in the state of Oregon,
more people are turning to the col
lege to enhance current job skills,
or steer people in a direction away
from current job paths.
Short-term training program
headcounts are up an astounding
127 percent over the same period
in 2001, while community educa
tion and advanced college credit
students are up 25 and 40 percent,
respectively.
“We are at a point in the
economy where more people are
know that we are seeing more and
more unemployed people who re
ally desire to continue their educa
tions, and now, more than ever,
Arts-Oregon Transfer degrees
(AAOT) have seen their enroll
ment figures fall by 1.5 percent from
the same period last year, but this
"We are at a point in the economy where more people are seek
ing to improve their quality of life, and education certainly
follows that course...and now, more than ever, community
college...is still the most affordable option for them."
Mark Fallon
Counselor, Oregon Employment Division
seeking to improve their quality of
life, and education certainly fol
lows that course,” according to
Mark Fallon, counselor with the
Oregon Employment Division. “I
community college is not only will
ing to help people with short-term
training, but it is still the most af
fordable option for them.”
Students seeking Associate of
is the only category that has seen
a decrease.
Total headcount in 2001 reached
13,052 students, an 8.7 percent in
crease from 2000. That total in
cludes full-time, part-time and non
credit students. Through the
fourth week of winter term 2002,
total enrollment has increased 8.3
percent over the witìtef térm'ol
2001.
Full-time equivalency (FTE) for
the college in the 2000-01 school
year increased by 14.1 percent from
the 1999-2000 school year. FIE is
what the college uses to track how
much money the college is taking
in from tuition every year. Through
the fourth week of winter term 2002,
FTE has increased 11.4 percent
over the same period in winter term
2001.
7o reach Frank Jordan, e-maU
fmj68@hotmaU.com or drop by
B-104