Oregon’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in May was 8.4%, down slightly from April.  Trade, transportation and utilities added 5000 jobs in May.  Retail also added more jobs than expected.  Local government though continued to post employment below seasonal norms.  State Economist Nick Belichicks says it continues to be a slow slog.  “Part of the reason the recovery is so slow is the hole was so deep.  In May we had 164,000 Oregonians out of work and that's near the same level we saw in 2008.”  In recent months, government declines were in contrast to modest job gains in much of the private sector.