Mar. 5--The global economic meltdown may seem far from Burns, but the recession is pounding rural Oregon, where sparse populations depend on few industries.

Harney County's jobless rate hit 15 percent in January, giving the southeast Oregon county -- the largest in size of 36 -- the state's highest seasonally adjusted unemployment level, officials said Wednesday.

Neighboring Crook County, in central Oregon, hit 14.9 percent unemployment in January. Many rural county jobless rates dwarf Oregon's 9.9 percent statewide figure and the national level of 7.6 percent.

"Harney County has lost almost all of its manufacturing," said Jason Yohannan, the state Employment Department's regional economist for eastern Oregon. He fears the potential shutdown of Monaco Coach Corp. -- the Lane County-based recreational-vehicle maker that also has a plant in Burns, the Harney County seat -- which is laying off workers.

"If we lose that employer," Yohannan said, "it's devastating."

Portland and other metro areas have diversified their economies over the years, moving into high-tech, exports and other industries. The Portland-Vancouver-Beaverton area's jobless rate was 9.1 percent in January, seasonally adjusted, while Washington County's was 7.9 percent.

But diversification is far more difficult for rural areas such as Grant County, which lacks a port, rail or an interstate highway.

Instead many rural counties have seen mills close as the national housing and construction industries have gone bust. Federal timber receipts, a staple source of support, vanished and then reappeared in lesser form -- the payments are ultimately scheduled to expire.

Not all rural counties suffer more than the state average. Hood River County, for example, has taken its hits but relied on tourism and agriculture to eke out a 7.3 percent January unemployment rate.

Counties in central, southern and eastern Oregon are falling hard. Douglas County, at 14 percent, had western Oregon's highest January unemployment rate, seasonally adjusted, while Roseburg Forest Products hung in as the largest employer.

"We're doing probably better than most," said Kris Backes, Roseburg Forest Products communication director. She credits committed private ownership and business strength going into the downturn.

Almost 2,000 of the forest-products company's 3,300 employees work in Douglas County, where five mills are running, not all of them full.