The booming job market in Oregon, which has seen its jobless rate fall faster than any other state in the US over the past few years, ought to be good news across the Pacific coast state. But don't ask the near 100 people who have lost their government jobs processing claims for the unemployed.

Tom Fuller, a manager at the Oregon Employment Office, says there simply was not enough work to go around his office any more in an economy where unemployment has fallen from 5.8 per cent to 2.7 per cent since June 2003. "Not long ago we would have a huge number of people calling for assistance, with a long wait time," he says. "Even with a smaller staff, callers often only have to wait 30 seconds before being helped."