Oregon’s jobless rate hit 5.0% in August, the highest point since the pandemic. But no one knows what’s happened since then.

The federal government shutdown that began Oct. 1 halted the collection and reporting of state-by-state employment data. The data blackout will persist until Congress authorizes funding to resume tracking jobs data.

The federal and state governments are still collecting some different numbers, however, and the signs aren’t encouraging for Oregon’s labor market.

Newly filed unemployment claims are up 7.8% so far this year, at their highest point since 2021. Through mid-October, the state has received nearly 190,000 new jobless claims. That’s 14,000 more than it received during the same time last year.

The rise in initial claims has accelerated over the course of t

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