Oregon Public Broadcasting

Oregon's unemployment rate remained essentially unchanged in July at 10.6 percent.

At a state job centers in Tualatin Corey Stearns photocopies her resume to apply for yet another job.

Corey Stearns: "There we go."

Stearns is a medical assistant. Her last job involved checking-in patients at a doctors office. But last October, she was laid off.

Corey Stearns: "Usually when I apply for a job, I have no problems getting a job. But right now, with the economy the way it is, It's really hard.

Kristian Foden-Vencil: "What do your days involve?"

Corey Stearns: "I go on Oregonjobslive.com all the time. I also come in here and use the computer. I use the computer at home. I have friends that work in the medical field, so if they have any openings, they let me know, that kind of thing."

Stearns is not alone.

Of the two million people in Oregon's labor force, 210,000 can't find work.

In fact, the state's unemployment rate has been bouncing around the 10-and-a-half percent mark for nine months now.

But there was some good news: the private sector generated an additional 2,200 jobs. Those gains were offset by jobs lost in the public sector.

But economist will tell you that recovery will come when jobs are added in the private sector -- not in government.

Employment Department communications manager, Tom Fuller, says the department’s website has 13,000 open positions.

Tom Fuller: "The top industries were there are jobs right now include office and admin support, sales, healthcare practitioners, management and computer and mathematical."

Meanwhile back at her computer, out-of-work medical assistant Corey Stearns says she seems to be able to get interviews, but not much more.

Corey Stearns: "I've been to quite a few. But the last interview I went to, there was 179 people applying for one position."

Kristian Foden-Vencil: "My God, that's a lot of people."

Corey Stearns: "It is. Even with a good recommendation and a lot of experience, it still doesn't help.

Oregon's unemployment rate  remains a full percentage point above the national average. It's the seventh highest jobless rate in the nation.

But it's not as bad as in Nevada, which at 14 percent has the worst unemployment rate in the nation.