For the zillionth month in a row, things were essentially unchanged...

Oregon's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 10.6 percent in August, unchanged from 10.6 percent in July. The state's jobless rate has stayed between 10.5 percent and 10.7 percent for the most recent 10 months. The August 2010 unemployment rate has declined significantly from the previous year; it was 11.2 percent in August 2009.

Nonfarm payroll employment dropped by 1,500 overall in August (seasonally adjusted). Three of Oregon's major industries had large job declines: leisure and hospitality (-2,100 jobs), construction (-1,400), and government (-700).

• The leisure and hospitality losses set the industry back at its employment level in the spring.

• Construction has climbed to 67,500 total employment, an increase from the recessionary low of 64,000, but still far below the 105,000 industry jobs in early 2007.

• Government losses occurred due to continuing employment reductions as the decennial Census ends, and employment below year-ago levels in many school districts.

These losses were partially offset by over-the-month gains in two sectors. Professional and business services (+1,000 in August) has gained steam this year following the harrowing downtrend in late 2008 and 2009. Educational and health services (+900) bounced back up after losses in recent months, but not enough to fully make up for the unusual downtrend over the past year.

For more details on Oregon's employment situation, read the full press release.
All numbers are seasonally adjusted.