LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – California’s unemployment rate tied a record low in July, Lake County’s jobless rate rose slightly and the nationwide job picture remained steady.
The latest report from the California Employment Development Department said that California’s unemployment rate tied a record low 4.1 percent in July while the state’s employers added 19,600 nonfarm payroll jobs, based on information from two surveys.
The state’s July 4.1 percent unemployment rate tied the record low unemployment rate first set in July through December 2018.
The report showed that Lake County’s jobless rate in July rose to 5.1 percent, up from 4.9 percent in June but just below the 5.2-percent adjusted rate in July 2018.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that nationwide unemployment in July remained at 3.7 percent for the second month in a row, compared to 3.9 percent in July 2019.
Based on a monthly federal survey of 5,100 California households which focuses on workers in the economy, the number of Californians holding jobs in June was 18,583,000, a decrease of 25,000 from June and down 1,000 from the employment total in July of last year.
At the same time, the report showed the number of unemployed Californians was 804,000 in July, a decrease of 11,000 over the month and up by 1,000 compared with July of last year.
The report said wage and salary jobs increased by 311,800 jobs – a 1.8 percent increase – from July 2018 to July 2019 compared to the U.S. annual gain of 2,246,000 jobs, a 1.5 percent increase.
Wage and salary jobs in California’s 11 major industries totaled 17,488,600 in July – a net gain of 19,600 jobs from June. The California Employment Development Department said this followed a revised gain of 41,300 jobs in June.
The California Employment Development Department said the state’s July job gain contributes to an employment expansion in California that is now 113 months long, tying the expansion of the 1960s for the longest on record.
What’s different about California’s current job expansion from that one decades ago, the Employment Development Department said, is that the record expansion between August 1960 and December 1969 was primarily fueled by manufacturing, particularly in aerospace, and higher population growth.
In the 1960s, there was a 2.7-percent annual growth rate compared to 0.8 percent currently, based on the state data.
California has gained 3,299,000 jobs since the economic expansion began in February 2010, accounting for more than 15 percent of the nation’s job gains over the expansion, the report said.
The report said that while virtually all states have experienced sustained job growth since the end of the recession, California’s growth has been more broad-based in all but one of the state’s
11 major industries.
That growth has been led by gains in the high-tech jobs of professional and business services and information, along with increases in education and health services, which the state said supports an aging demographic.
The number of jobs in the agriculture industry decreased by 3,400 jobs from June to 425,900. The agricultural industry has added 3,900 farm jobs since July 2018.
Total farm jobs in Lake County actually grew by 11.3 percent in July, while total nonfarm jobs were down by 3.2 percent, according to state data.
Areas of growth in Lake County included the subcategories of wholesale trade, 25 percent; professional and business services, 3.3 percent; financial activities, 2.7 percent; mining, logging and construction, 2.2 percent; and other services, 1.8 percent.
Lake County’s job sector subcategories showing declines included government, -13.3 percent; service providing, -3.6 percent; manufacturing, -2.6 percent; retail trade, -0.4 percent.
In Lake County, the civilian labor force numbered 28,990 individuals in July, compared to 29,270 in June and 28,910 in July 2018, based on state data.
There were 1,480 unemployed Lake County residents last month, 1,430 in June and 1,490 in July 2018, the state said.
Lake County was ranked No. 35 statewide for its July unemployment rate. Neighboring county jobless rates and rankings are Colusa, 10.2 percent, No. 57; Glenn, 6.7 percent, No. 48; Mendocino, 4 percent, No. 21; Napa, 3 percent, No. 5; Sonoma, 3 percent, No. 5; and Yolo, 4.3 percent, No. 26, the report said.
The report also stated there were 308,212 people receiving Unemployment Insurance benefits during the survey week in July compared to 302,156 in June and 323,594 people in July 2018. Concurrently, 39,490 people filed new claims in July which was a month-over increase of 604.
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
California unemployment hits record low in July; Lake County rate up slightly
- Elizabeth Larson
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