Recent Trends in Lane County Unemployment Insurance Claims by Industry

May 11, 2020

The Oregon Employment Department is continually developing its ability to track and explain the economic impact of COVID-19 on the local economy. Unemployment Insurance (UI) claims are one of the best ways available to track what’s happening. Find more information on this and other data at our COVID-19 page.
This graph shows the number of initial UI claims processed in recent weeks by industry. The overall number of new claims processed is down from its peak, and most industries are lower as well. This doesn’t mean that people in previous weeks have gone back to work, it only tells us who is newly becoming unemployed.

Although the data aren’t perfect, we can say something about the industries affected by layoffs and furloughs, and how they’ve changed over time. Accommodation and food services was affected severely and quickly, and new layoffs in the sector are probably lower than they were in March. Although the numbers in manufacturing are lower, the industry is not as far below its peak as other sectors.

As we have new data available, including continued claims (those that pay out each week) or the self-employed newly eligible for UI coverage, we will do our best to share and explain the impacts we see.