The California Employment Development Department’s latest report put Lake County’s October unemployment rate at 16.2 percent, up from a revised rate of 14.8 percent for September. In October 2008 Lake County posted a jobless rate of 11.2 percent.

The county was ranked No. 50 out of the state’s 58 counties for joblessness in October, the agency reported.

The state’s overall unemployment rate for October was 12.5 percent, compared to 8.0 percent in October of 2008, the Employment Development Department reported. In September, the state’s unemployment rate was 12.3 percent.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the nation’s October unemployment rate was 10.2 percent, up from 9.8 percent in September and 6.6 percent in October of 2008.

In response to the unemployment reports, US Sen. Barbara Boxer said the news is a clear sign that more action must be taken to put people back to work, and she’s working with Senate leaders and other committee chairmen on a job creation package.

Boxer, who chairs the Environment and Public Works Committee, said she’ll work to include significant investments in transportation and infrastructure in the package, and will push for the immediate reauthorization of the Economic Development Administration to allow creation of private sector jobs in the communities that need them most.

She said those initiatives could create hundreds of thousands of new jobs.

“I will also work to make sure the package includes legislation I sponsored to increase lending to small businesses, which are the main engines of job creation in this country,” she said.

Based on the state’s revised unemployment reports, Lake County’s jobless rate hit 16 percent in January and February before peaking at 16.6 percent in March.

Over the last several months, the county’s unemployment rate has been reduced somewhat, likely due to the seasonal agricultural harvests.

However, with harvest now over and with hundreds of jobs lost – possibly permanently – in the recent closure of Konocti Harbor Resort & Spa, the rate likely will climb for the remainder of the year and into next spring, which is part of the normal yearly unemployment cycle.

Lake’s neighboring counties registered the following jobless rates and state rankings in October: Colusa, 17.3 percent, No. 53; Glenn, 13.4 percent, No. 33; Mendocino, 10.6 percent, No. 12; Napa, 9.0 percent, No. 3; Sonoma, 10.1 percent, No. 10; and Yolo, 12.2 percent, No. 24.

California’s unemployed numbered 2,293,000 in October, an increase of 808,000 from the previous October, and up 36,000 from September, according to the Employment Development Department.

Imperial County had the state’s highest unemployment rate, at 30 percent, while Marin County’s unemployment rate was the lowest statewide at 8.1 percent.

The Employment Development Department reported that nonfarm payroll jobs in October totaled 14,199,000, an increase of 25,700 jobs over September but a decrease of 687,700 jobs – or 4.6 percent – from October of 2008.

The employment figures are based on information derived from two sources – a federal survey of 5,500 California households and a survey of 42,000 California businesses measures jobs in the economy.

The agency reported that the federal households survey showed a decrease in the number of employed people, estimating the number of Californians employed in October was 16,041,000, down 94,000 from September, and down 981,000 from the employment total in October of last year.

In October, six employment categories – information; financial activities; professional and business services; educational and health services; leisure and hospitality; and government – added jobs over the month, gaining 48,600 jobs, according to the report.

The biggest job number increase for October came in the government sector, which added 13,400 jobs but has posted an average job loss of 8,000 per month over the last six months, the Employment Development Department reported.

Declines in job numbers in October came in five categories – mining and logging; construction;

manufacturing; trade, transportation and utilities; and other services – for a total of 22,900 lost jobs. The Employment Development Department’s report showed that manufacturing posted the largest decline over the month, down by 8,300 jobs.

Educational and health services was the only industry division to show job gains over the year, posting a 1.4-percent increase, amounting to 23,500 jobs, based on the report.

The 10 remaining categories posted declines totaling 711,200 lost jobs since October of 2008. They included mining and logging; construction; manufacturing; trade, transportation and utilities; information; financial activities; professional and business services; leisure and hospitality; other services; and government.

The largest decline of an industry on a numerical basis over the year was found in trade, transportation and utilities, which lost 160,900 jobs, a decline of 5.7 percent, according to the report. Construction posted the largest decline on a percentage basis, down by 18.2 percent, a decrease of 136,500 jobs.

During the October survey week, approximately 740,272 people were receiving regular unemployment insurance benefits, according to the Employment Development Department. That’s down slightly from the 744,924 people receiving the benefits in September and 527,918 reported last year.

The agency reported that, at the same time, new claims for unemployment insurance jumped up to 83,475 in October, compared with 69,160 in September and 67,491 in October of last year.

E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it . Follow Lake County News on Twitter at http://twitter.com/LakeCoNews and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-News/143156775604?ref=mf .

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