Unemployment and Mortgage Delinquency

From the Calculated Risk blog this graph to which I added the label for Oregon's datapoint. Oregon is among the highest unemployment rate states, but is well below other states with similarly high unemployment rates in mortgage delinquencies and foreclosure.

This begs the question as to why this is? Are unemployed Oregonians over-represented in the renter population relative to the national average (and if so why? - two theories: the preponderance of young migrants and the limitations on building new houses), were Oregonians less likely to have gone for sub-prime loans (answer: yes, somewhat)? Ideas?

Oregon Forecolsures

OPB's Ethan Lindsey gets picked up by NPR this morning talking about something I have been saying for a while: Foreclosures in Oregon are now more about unemployment than sub-prime loans and speculation. And with unemployment soaring in Oregon, the situation is going to get a lot worse before it gets better.

Nice job on the story Ethan, kudos.

[Note: This post comes a little late because I have been waiting for the latest Oregon jobs report to structure the post around - but it is not yet out]