Oregon Public Broadcasting

Oregon's latest unemployment numbers, by county, are out.Statewide, the jobless rate is 10.8 percent, but the unemployment rate in some rural counties is above 20 percent.If you look at the numbers without adjusting for seasonal changes, one in five workers is unemployed in two rural counties, Grant and Crook.  And the jobless rate in Deschutes County rose to 12.6 percent in February.According to the U-S census bureau, Bend's metro area is one of the 20 worst-hit in the country.Carolyn Eagan is a regional economist for the state’s Employment Department.Carolyn Eagan: “In Deschutes County specifically, we actually saw a gain in jobs. But we expect in February to see more than that. You might expect to see in February, not just retailers but hotels and Mt. Bachelor and such, they maybe hired some in January, but realized, ‘Oh, we need more, we need more workers.’”Portland's unemployment rate, adjusted for the season rose to 9.6 percent in February. That's twice as high as it was exactly one year ago.