More than 18,000 students in the U.S. state of Oregon were homeless during some or all of last school year due to foreclosure crisis resulting from high unemployment rate, local media reported on Friday. The number hit a new record, representing a 14-percent increase from the previous year, The Oregonian newspaper said, citing figures released by the state authorities. More students than ever in the state have ended up living in shelters, motels, trailers or garages without running water or heat or staying with friends or relatives, the newspaper reported. More families in Oregon have lost homes to the foreclosure crisis and lost their ability to pay the rent or the mortgage due to the state's high unemployment rate, which are reasons behind the increase of homeless students, state officials said. According to a new report released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics on Friday, Oregon had an unemployment rate of 12.2 percent in August, the fourth highest in the United States after Michigan, Nevada and Rhode Island. 