Oregon Job Market Suffering

Layoffs, cutbacks and a surge of new workers are painting a dismal picture for the Oregon job market. Economists say Southern Oregon is staring to line up with national trends as the job market here slows down.

"Even though Jackson County's economy isn't in recession we see clear signs that the economic growth that we had in the past is no longer taking place right now. It's a very slow economic growth right now," says Ainoura Oussenbec, workforce analyst and the employment department.

Oussenbec says many employers are cutting back hours and experiencing hiring freezes. She says, "Because a lot of employers are concerned about the slowing economy and high gas prices and a lot of other factors out there, of course they don't want to hire. They want to wait and see how things are going."

As the school year wraps up, many students will be looking for summer jobs, and many college grads will want to start careers.

"People are coming out of college and it's kind of a tough time now, not in the past when they had their choice of jobs and good paying jobs," says Jan Safley, executive director at Consumer Credit Counseling of Southern Oregon.

Safley says more people are seeking credit counseling, like Gary Denzer who's exploring his options now that his trucking business isn't profitable.

"I might be a candidate for bankruptcy, I don't know, I've got an impeccable credit rating, I've never had a black mark on my credit all my life. I've protected it religiously," says Denzer.

And those looking for work may have a long search ahead of them. Safley says, "Economists are saying this isn't going to be that short term. And if you're out of work, the more money you made in your last job usually means the longer it's going to take for you to find a comparable job going forward."

Oussenbec says the number of jobs available through the employment department is nearly half what they were a year ago. She says, "It is a challenging market for people who are right now beginning to look for work."

Oussenbec says job hunters need to be creative and go beyond searching online. She says looking for jobs through temp-to-hire agencies may be a good way to get your foot in the door.

Not all industries are experiencing job losses in Southern Oregon. Healthcare and social assistance jobs have remained strong, but often require special training and education.