All three counties in central Oregon saw decreased unemployment rates from April to May. Crook County unemployment dropped to 8.1% in May, down 0.6 from April. Jefferson County unemployment declined to 8.7% last month, down from 9.2% in April. Deschutes County's rate moved down 0.6% to 6.1%. Steve Williams, Regional Economist with Worksource Oregon, says there are still signs we are in a soft economy. In May 2008 6800 people were out of work while that number in May 2007 was 4600.