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	This Week   2010	Last Week  2009	This Week  2010	Last Week 2009
Initial Claims	10, 285	14,258	11,164	15,908
Individuals on Regular Unemployment Benefits	107,536	124,371	108,314	120,612
Individuals on Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC)	97,875	31,279	97,734	30,756
Total individuals on unemployment benefits (including all programs)	214,844	160,522	215,319	155,774
Total benefit payments	$65,091,192	$43,420,321	$65,303,740	$42,439,225
Unemployment Insurance trust fund balance (In millions)	$960.25	$1,843	$980.34	$1,873.30
Average Unemployment Check	$291.39	$281.73	$292.90	$283.60

 

 

 

The total number of initial claims fell for the second consecutive week and remained well below last year's numbers.  Initial claims dropped by 849 between week five and six of 2010, 3,973 less than in the same week a year ago.

The total number of individuals on unemployment also declined slightly, but remained well above last year's figures. The 214,844 individuals claiming benefits are down by 475 from a week ago, but 54,322 more than the same week a year ago.

More than half of the unemployment benefits paid out come from sources other than the unemployment insurance trust fund. Of the more than $65 million paid last week, less than $30 million was from the trust fund. Money to cover Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC), Extended Benefits (EB), and Federal Additional Compensation (FAC, the $25 per week addition to all unemployment claims) are all paid by the Federal Government.

The Oregon Legislature is close to passing the Oregon Emergency Benefits (OEB) program. OEB would allow up to six weeks of additional benefits for individuals who have exhausted all benefits.  The Oregon Employment Department estimates 18,000 individuals will be covered over the life of the OEB program.

On the employment side, iMatchSkills.org (a service of WorkSource Oregon) currently has 4,677 total job listings representing 11,073 job openings. You can view all job openings online at www.WorkingInOregon.org, click on “Browse Jobs" on the right-hand menu.

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