If you look at the number of unemployed people across the nation, it’s no wonder why there are so many applications. Few states have seen the ugly underbelly of the uncertain economy like Oregon has. According to officials in the state, the unemployment rate is at 10.6 percent for July 2010. That’s more than one percentage point higher than the national average, which was at 9.5 percent. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like Oregon’s job market is going to turn around any time soon. If you want to count the number of Oregon residents working part-time jobs until they can find full-time positions or those who have given up job hunting altogether, the unemployment rate skyrockets to 20.6 percent. That’s more than four percentage points higher than the national average. According to reports, Oregon lost more than 3,000 jobs in July.

Some officials say there could be hope for unemployed workers in Oregon, though. In June, initial reports showed the state lost 3,600 payroll jobs. However, the state actually gained 1,800 jobs in June when seasonally adjusted. That means there was a net increase of 5,400 jobs throughout the state. According to David Cooke, an Oregon state labor economist, the numbers often get skewed because many companies pay their employees once a month rather than once a week. As a result, they often miss the reporting deadlines for payroll, which means those jobs don’t show up in the monthly survey.

Some experts are putting their faith in the exports industry to bring the state of Oregon back to a decent level of unemployment. Mark McMullen who runs an economic website from Oregon, said the rate of unemployment throughout the state could get as high as 11 percent before it starts making improvements. However, he also said recovery could take about two years after that to see better numbers.