>La Grande Observer | Union and Wallowa Counties' News Leader

Looking up: A shift curtailment at Boise Cascade contributed to manufacturing job losses in 2005. Boise has since called that shift back, which improves the manufacturing job outlook for this year. (The Observer/CHRIS BAXTER).

Bill Rautenstrauch

The Observer

Union County failed to perform as well as the rest of the state during 2005's quickening recovery from economic recession, but there are some signs of improvement as 2006 heats up.

According to reports from the Oregon Employment Department, three of six counties in the region, including Union, Grant and Malheur, lost jobs last year.

That despite the fact that Oregon as a whole outpaced the nation in job growth, adding 50,000 non-farm jobs in 2005 for a 3.1 percent gain. The U.S. added two million jobs for a growth rate of 1.5 percent.

Local numbers say that Union County's total non-farm employment fell by 1.7 percent or 170 jobs in 2005.

Almost all the job losses were in the local government sector, which was hurt by cutbacks in public education.

Regional Economist Jason Yohannan, writing in the monthly newsletter "Eastern Oregon Labor Trends," reported that total non-farm payroll employment averaged 10,010 in 2005, the lowest overall job count since 1999.

Besides local government, Yohannan also noted a slight drop in employment in Union County's manufacturing sector.

But now the good news. Yohannan reported the trend in manufacturing job losses appears to be reversing itself, with manufacturers hiring again.

"That bodes well for 2006," Yohannan said.

The dip in manufacturing employment in 2005 would have included curtailment of a shift at Boise Cascade.

That shift since has been called back. There have also been significant job gains in the state government sector.

Yohannan said the drop in Union County's 2005 job growth continued a trend seen since 2003.

But with a total of 90 jobs added in February, things are looking up.

"In the early months of 2006, we're starting to see some rebound," he said.

In addition to Grant, Malheur and Union, the only other Oregon counties with job losses in 2005 were Gilliam and Umatilla.

The most recent employment figures available from the department say that Union County posted an 8.3 percent jobless rate in February 2006.

Oregon's seasonally adjusted rate for the month was 5.6 percent, and the nation's 4.8 percent.

Still, Union County's unemployment rate was the lowest of six Eastern Oregon counties.

Grant County stood at 12.7 percent, Harney 12.3 percent, Wallowa 10.1 percent, Baker 9.6 percent, and Malheur 8.5 percent.

Also according to the Employment Department's annual report for 2005, Wallowa County was one of three counties in the region to add jobs over the year.

The 0.9 percent job growth in Wallowa County was actually the best in the six-county Eastern Oregon Region. The other two counties showing growth were Baker at 0.6 percent and Harney at 0.8 percent.

But Wallowa County's job growth fell short of what had been anticipated, Yohannan said.

"At one time, it looked as though full-year figures might match a high that was reached in 2002, but they fell a little short," he said.

Wholesale and retail trade has been Wallowa County's primary growth industry in recent years.

Yohannan credits small business with keeping that sector on the move.

"Employment advances haven't been the consequences of one or two big hiring events," he said. "Rather, it's been the result of steady, sustained progress at a variety of small businesses across the retail spectrum."