Pacific County Wa

May jobless numbers drop in Pacific County

PACIFIC COUNTY — The number of people filing first-time claims for unemployment insurance in Pacific County fell to the lowest level in nearly three years in May, the latest sign that at least some aspects of the local economy are healing.

Only 117 people filed for unemployment last month, according to a report issued last week by the Washington Employment Security Department. That was down from 233 in April. The last time it was lower was in June 2008.

The number of continuing claims for unemployment was also down in May, to 343 compared to 440 in April and 495 in May 2010 and 718 in May 2009. Twenty-seven county residents exhausted their eligibility for jobless coverage last month, about average for the past year.

The county’s official unemployment rate, a mostly symbolic number based on statewide estimates, also fell in May to 12.5 percent, compared to 14 percent in April and 13.9 percent in May 2010.

The state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was estimated at 9.1 percent, down slightly from April’s revised rate of 9.2 percent.

Industries that posted statewide gains in May were leisure and hospitality, up 3,200; professional and business services, up 900; construction, up 700; and government, up 200.

Jobs were lost in wholesale trade, down 2,100; retail trade, down 1,600; financial activities, down 900; transportation, warehousing and utilities, down 600; education and health services, down 300; and manufacturing, down 200.

Even with last month’s job losses, the state economy has added an estimated 52,400 jobs since the low point of the recession.

An estimated 306,919 people (not seasonally adjusted) in Washington were unemployed and looking for work in May, and 208,582 people received unemployment benefits from Washington.

Employment Security is a partner in the statewide WorkSource system, which offers a variety of employment and training services for job seekers, including free help with interviewing skills, résumés and job referrals. WorkSource also can help employers recruit and screen for qualified workers, apply for employment tax breaks and qualify for subsidized employee training.

Locations of local WorkSource offices are listed online at www.go2worksource.com and in the blue pages of local telephone books. In addition, more than 26,000 job openings are posted online at www.go2worksource.com .

Washington County Sheriff's Office release more details about ...

The Washington County Sheriff's Office has released more information about the alleged scams of Lucas Ebert, the man who was arrested last week for posing as a doctor at OHSU Hospital.

Ebert came onto officials' radars in April. A subsequent investigation linked Ebert to several cons in Oregon and Washington going back to the fall of 2010.

Here's the report from the Sheriff's Office:

" So far, Lucas is suspected of scamming various victims in Oregon and SW Washington out of more than $100,000 in funds and merchandise. His confidence schemes usually involve creating the illusion that he is some sort of successful business-person or multi-millionaire and then:

-He offers to repair a person's credit by taking control of their finances and inflating their accounts with bogus personal checks. He then spends the money, the checks bounce, and the victim is left holding the debt. He also takes out loans in the person's name and generally exploits the person's finances for his own benefit - under the created belief that he is doing this to improve their credit.  -He offers to purchase a house. He enters into a real estate agreement and utters a bogus personal check as earnest money.
-He purchases expensive automobiles with bogus personal checks or the forged checks of others.
-He sells products and services under the guise of his business, Elite Computers, or claims that he has employment and connections with some large-scale tech firm or producer. The products and services are never received and Lucas walks away with the cash.
-He gets victims to pay for his long stays at expensive hotels and his other personal expenses.
-He financially exploits family, friends, and others under the ruse that he is a successful business person experiencing some temporary hardship; it being implied that if they help him out in the mean time, it will probably be worth their while in the future.