Mail Tribune Business - Employment rate shifts little

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Employment rate shifts little October employment numbers released Thursday for Jackson and Josephine counties revealed few dramatic changes. Jackson County's unemployment rate remained at 5.7 percent, mirroring the September figure and down 0.1 percent from the October 1997 mark. John Anderson, the state employment department's regional economist, said the jobless rate might have dropped were it not for layoffs in the wood products sector -- many of them tied to the Sept. 7 fire that destroyed Medford's Boise Cascade mill. The lumber and wood sector lost 360 jobs. There were 1,150 more nonfarm jobs in October than in September in Jackson County. The bulk of the gains came in the education and retail sectors. Anderson said the increase in education was tied to the school year hitting full stride. The retail gains were primarily in nonstore retail -- the taking and filling of orders through the mail or the Internet. Anderson said those increases had to do with the coming holiday season. In Josephine County, the unemployment rate rose from September's 7.5 percent to 7.8 percent for October. The October 1997 rate was 8.2. Anderson said Josephine County's biggest gains came in education and the biggest losses came in wood products, tied to cutbacks at Spalding & Son Inc. Today's Business Index Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1998, Medford, Oregon USA