There were slightly fewer unemployed workers in Coos County in May, though weak construction and tourist hirings led to a higher adjusted unemployment rate.

According to the Oregon Employment Department, Coos County’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rose more than a percentage point in one month’s time, from 13.9 percent to 15.2 percent.

Douglas and Curry counties also saw less than impressive gains. Douglas County climbed to 18.3 percent unemployment from April’s 17.3. Curry County’s rate rose to 15.6 from April’s 13.9.

But this time of year usually means workers are building houses and greeting visitors from out of town. That’s just not happening.

Coos County had slightly fewer umemployed workers in May, 3,987 compared with 4,015 in April. Curry’s unemployed went from 1,300 to 1,351. But both counties saw their job rolls about the same.

“There wasn’t a lot of change from April to May, it was fairly mundane,” said Guy Tauer, a regional economist. “Normally the rate is falling between April and May.”

The good news is that it doesn’t look like companies will be making massive layoffs like those last fall.

“Things are not getting worse at a faster rate as we saw six months ago,” said Tauer. “I guess that would be the silver lining.”

The seasonally adjusted unemployment rates for all three South Coast counties are the highest recorded by the state agency since it started keeping track in January 1990.

This time last year, Coos County had 7.3 percent unemployment, while Curry County was at 7.0 percent and Douglas County at 9.2 percent.

Manufacturing in southwest Oregon counties has been hit hard. Coos County manufacturing employment was down 6.4 percent from May 2008, with wood products down 9 percent. But that’s good compared with nearby counties. Curry’s manufacturing jobs were down 14 percent from May 2008, with 15 percent losses in wood products. Josephine County manufacturing was  down 24 percent from 2008, with wood products down 26 percent.

“For whatever reason, Coos County has been holding up better than some of neighboring counties,” Tauer said.

The statewide adjusted unemployment rate was 12.4 percent for May. Gilliam County had May’s lowest unemployment rate of Oregon counties, with 9.3, while Crook County had the highest, at 20.9.