Oregon Public Broadcasting

Malheur and Benton counties may both be in Oregon – but that’s where the similarities end during this recession.

Almost a quarter of Benton County’s jobs are with Oregon State University, in Corvallis.

And OSU's stability pushed Corvallis’ unemployment rate down by three-tenths of a percent between August and September.

Yet, during that same time period, the unemployment rate in Malheur county, in far southeastern Oregon, jumped by 1.5 percent.

Jason Yohannon is the regional economist for Malheur, and Harney County.

Jason Yohannon: “By and large, what we’ve got in this region right now, is a very weak labor market that didn’t get a whole lot worse, but by the same token there’s no sign that it’s getting better right now.”

Yohannon says employers in Malheur County often hire a number of seasonal workers to pick and process potatoes, and other farm products.

That hasn’t happened so far this fall – although he says those jobs can sometimes show up in September, too.

Statewide, the unemployment rate in Oregon increased by .4 percent in the past month.