PORTLAND, Ore. -- Statistics released Monday showed that metro Portland and Salem unemployment continues to march upward, with the outlook looking bleak across Oregon.

Since peaking in January 2008, the Portland metro area has lost 53,600 jobs; a decline of 5.1 percent.

The metro area’s unemployment rate rose from 11.9 percent in April to 12.3 percent in May.

Metro Portland covers seven counties. May's numbers were considered "good" because unemployment had been rising at a faster pace in recent months.

Unemployment rates in 33 of the state's 36 counties were at least 10 percent in May, according to the Oregon Employment Department. And the rate has doubled from a year ago in all but five counties.

An estimated 137,600 area residents were without jobs compared to 81,000 a year ago.

The Salem-area jobless rate climbed to 12.4 percent in May, on par with the rates reached during the recession of the early 1980s. Those looking for work at an employment office in northeast Salem know how tough it is to find a good job.

Maris Crimmins, a former state worker, told the Statesman Journal newspaper she hasn't found steady work for a year. She did find six weeks of work at one point, and has been getting interviews, though she thinks younger applicants have an edge.

"All I want is a job that will let me pay the rent," Crimmins said.

An estimated 11,000 Oregonians are projected to run out of unemployment benefits between September and December, said Tom Fuller, an Employment Department spokesman. The Legislature is considering House Bill 3500, which would extend benefits for those workers.

Oregon’s unemployment rate was 12.4 percent in May, while the U.S. rate rose to 9.4 percent.

Oregon remains second-highest in national unemployment, with Michigan still number one, in statistics released Friday by the U.S. Department of Labor. Oregon has the largest rate increase of any state from a year ago, up 6.7 percent, followed by Michigan at 5.9.

The national unemployment rate went up from 8.9 percent in April to 9.4 percent in May, an increase of 3.9 percent from a year ago.