Rural counties are still often timber dependent, and demand for Pacific NW lumber is very closely correlated with housing construction. And of course, home construction is way way down.

It's unfortunate for Harney Co. that their other major employer, RV building, is also being hit by the credit crunch / gas prices / recession. And with a population of only a few thousand, it's easy to hit 20% unemployment.

For many decades, rural Oregon has had a very wide boom-bust cycle. Unemployment in some timber counties topped 30% (!) during the early 1980s recession. Less true in the wheat growing counties in northeastern OR but the timber and ranching counties very much so.