In the past three weeks alone 1 in 8 Oregon workers lost their jobs, according to new data out Thursday, the latest illustration of the state’s economic devastation amid the coronavirus outbreak.

Jobless claims have been running at record levels since the middle of March as Oregon hunkered down to contain spread of the coronavirus. There is growing evidence that the shutdown has sharply reduced the spread of the virus, potentially saving thousands of lives. But it has come at a profound economic cost.

The state fielded a record 100,700 claims last week, up from record levels in each of the prior two weeks. Altogether, the state has received nearly 270,000 claims in the past three weeks – equivalent to 13.4% of all the jobs in the state.

By comparison, Oregon suffered fewer than 150,000 job losses throughout the Great Recession.

Restaurants, bars and retail shops were the first to close and that’s where jobless claims first spiked last month. The latest numbers show the cataclysm is spreading to all parts of the economy.

This week alone, the Multnomah Athletic Club laid off 600, Evraz laid off 230 at its Portland steel mill, railcar maker Gunderson eliminated nearly 200 Portland jobs and Precision Castparts set plans to close its main Portland plant.

As dismal as Thursday’s numbers are, they likely understate the severity of the crisis. The volume of layoffs has completely overwhelmed Oregon’s jobless claims system, with phone lines swamped as an antiquated computer system struggles to adapt to recent changes in the benefits program.

That means many laid off workers haven’t been able to file and aren’t yet counted in the data.

The employment department says its system is frequently giving newly laid-off workers incorrect information about the status of their claims, and with the phone lines jammed workers have little opportunity to seek clarification and corrections.

Still, the employment department said it paid out $28 million in benefits last week and expects that total to rise sharply in the weeks ahead.

The department apologized Thursday for the delays and confusion in processing claims. And it said it had created a new web page with information for people having trouble filing.

1.We hear you. We apologize for the frustration and delays our customers have experienced with the unemployment claims process. — Oregon Employment Department (@ORemployment) April 9, 2020

Nationally, 16.8 million people filed for jobless claims in the past three weeks. More than 1 in 10 workers nationally lost their jobs during that period.

The federal CARES Act, passed by Congress last week, provided funding for states to waive the typical one-week waiting before their claims start paying benefits. But Oregon says it will not waive the waiting week because its computer systems cannot accommodate the change without further delays in processing new claims.

The department did say Thursday that it will begin processing the new, $600 benefits payments Congress authorized last month by the end of this week.

Economists say the depth of Oregon’s recession will depend on just how long the shutdown lasts.

“The sudden stop of the economy sends us into a severe recession overnight,” Oregon state economist Josh Lehner wrote in an analysis earlier this week. Even after some restrictions are lifted on how people interact and where they can go, Lehner said normal activity may not return for an indefinite period – perhaps until a vaccine or effective treatment emerge.

“This initial bounce back likely takes the economy from near-depression level readings up to something resembling a severe or bad recession,” he wrote. “From there, the economy sees slow or moderate rates of growth until the health situation is under control.”

-- Mike Rogoway | mrogoway@oregonian.com | twitter: @rogoway |

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