| Press Release |
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| December 17, 2007 |
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Governor Hails Jobs Report as Great News for Oregon's Working Families and Economy
Salem – Governor Ted Kulongoski hailed today’s state jobs report as great news for Oregon ’s working families and a sign that the state economy is regaining its momentum.
“There are more people working in Oregon than ever before,” the Governor said. “This is good news for working families, good news for Oregon businesses and a tribute to the underlying strengths of our economy.”
November’s gain of 7,500 jobs was the best single-month increase in seasonally adjusted employment in Oregon since December 2005 and put Oregon back ahead of job growth at the national level after a relatively sluggish period during the summer and early fall.
November’s job gain comes on top of a revised gain of 3,200 jobs in October. For the past 12 months, employment in Oregon has increased 1.4%, compared to 1.1% for the U.S.
“We predicted that we will have job gains in the fourth quarter - although not at this degree of magnitude - and it's happening,” said Dae Baek, acting state economist. “We see the first quarter of 2008 a little bit stronger.”
The state’s most recent economic forecast, released last month, predicted that employment would reach 1,725,200 jobs in the final three months of this year. Today’s report puts the count at 1,737,900, according to the Employment Department’s seasonal adjustment formula.
“We had our share of setbacks in housing sector but other segments of the economy are pulling us up,” Baek explained. “The consumer segment of the economy is going strong. And, manufacturing has stabilized thanks to strong demand from the global economy. We are headed in the right direction.”
Contact:
Patty Wentz, 503-378-6169
Rem Nivens, 503-378-6496
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