More money on the way for unemployed Oregonians

now hiring sign.JPG

A "now hiring" sign displayed in San Francisco last year.

(David Paul Morris/Bloomberg)

Oregonians who lose their jobs will see more in state benefits as they seek work than jobseekers did in the past.

The maximum weekly unemployment insurance payment rose $18 this week, to $567. The minimum increased $5, to $133.

The Oregon Employment Department, which oversees the payments, announced the raises Thursday. Over six months -- the longest possible span of the program -- the extra money could add up to anywhere from $120 to $432.

A spokesman said the agency is required to adjust the benefit rates every year. The maximum benefit is 64 percent of Oregon's average weekly wage; the lowest amounts to 15 percent of the average.

The benefit boosts arrive as pay increases statewide. Wages increased 2.2 percent, on average, to more than $23 an hour over the past year. Although the increase was slight, it outpaced the rate of inflation. That suggests higher living costs did not eat up all of workers' pay gains.

But nearly 101,900 Oregonians are unemployed, and most have no steady income streams.

Roughly one in four receive jobless benefits. The state sent 27,600 unemployment checks out the second week of June, according to the most recent available data.

Many people can not find a job before the six-month benefits clock expires, which happened to 627 jobseekers that week. Others may never have qualified for the payments. New Oregon residents with no state work history, for example, are often ineligible.

In fact, most unemployed Oregonians don't stand to gain financially from Thursday's announcement. The changes only apply to jobless benefits that took effect on or after Monday.

People who were already enrolled in the insurance program will not receive larger payments as a result of the changes.

But in a hopeful sign for all jobseekers, Oregon's labor market has improved significantly in the past year. Although the statewide unemployment rate edged up slightly in May from 5.2 percent to 5.3 percent, it remains near its lowest mark since 2007.

-- Molly Young

myoung@oregonian.com
503-412-7056
@mollykyoung

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