LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – While the pandemic continues, the latest state unemployment report shows that jobless rates are dropping in Lake County and across California as a whole.
The Employment Development Department reported that Lake County’s June unemployment rate was 14.2 percent, down from a final revised rate of 15.5 percent for May and 16.7 percent in April.
California’s unemployment rate improved to 14.9 percent in June – down from 16.4 percent in April and May – as the state’s employers added a record 558,200 jobs, according to the report.
These improvements follow the previous record gain of 134,200 jobs in May and record losses in the months preceding that, in a data series that dates back to 1990.
California has now regained more than a quarter – or 26.4 percent – of the 2,625,500 nonfarm jobs lost during March and April as a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Employment Development Department said.
And, despite the fact that California’s rate is going down, the Employment Development Department noted that it is still far higher than the 12.3 percent it was during the height of the Great Recession in March, October and November 2010.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the nation’s unemployment rate for June was 11.1 percent, down from 13.3 percent in May and 14.7 percent in April.
In June, Lake County had a civilian labor force totaling 25,800 individuals, with 3,660 individuals unemployed, compared to a labor force of 25,480 and 3,950 unemployed in May.
Total nonfarm jobs in Lake County were up in June by 3.4 percent over May but down 20.7 percent compared to the previous June, while farm jobs dropped -3.4 percent from May and 32.9 percent in a year-over comparison.
Total nonfarm subcategories that showed job growth over May were professional and business services, 25 percent; information, 20 percent; leisure and hospitality, 19.7 percent, and manufacturing, 15 percent.
Subcategories that showed job loss in Lake County when compared to May included federal government, -5.3 percent, and educational and health services, -1.7 percent.
Lake County’s 14.9-percent jobless rate ranked it No. 40 of California’s 58 counties.
Neighboring county jobless rates and ranks for June are Colusa, 18.3 percent, No. 54; Glenn, 12.9 percent, No. 26; Mendocino, 12.3 percent, No. 19; Napa, 12.5 percent, No. 20; Sonoma, 11.5 percent, No. 12; and Yolo, 10.6 percent, No. 5.
The pandemic has, in some cases, flipped traditional statewide rankings in which Bay Area counties have had the lowest jobless rates.
That continued in June, with Lassen County holding on for the second month to the No. 1 ranking statewide for lowest unemployment, with 9.5 percent. Rounding out the top five are Trinity County, 9.8 percent; Modoc and Marin tied at 10 percent; and Yolo, 5 percent.
The highest unemployment in the state was recorded in Imperial County, 27.3 percent. Other counties in the bottom five include Mono, 24.7 percent; Alpine, 19.6 percent; Los Angeles, 19.5 percent; and Colusa, 18.3 percent.
Statewide numbers and trends
The Employment Development Department said the number of Californians holding jobs in June was 16,117,000, an increase of 653,300 from May, but down 2,451,900 from the employment total in June of last year.
The number of unemployed Californians was 2,831,000 in June, a decrease of 212,100 over the month, but up by 2,050,000 compared with June of last year, the report said.
The report showed that the industry sectors that were most affected by the shutdown due to the pandemic tended to have the largest job gains in June.
The state said that total nonfarm jobs in California’s 11 major industries totaled 15,671,400 in June – a net gain of 558,200 jobs from May. This followed a revised gain of 134,200 jobs in May.
Total nonfarm jobs decreased by 1,740,600 jobs – a 10 percent decrease – from June 2019 to June 2020 compared to the U.S. annual loss of 12,957,000 jobs, an 8.6-percent decrease, the state said.
The number of jobs in the agriculture industry decreased by 8,500 jobs from May to 313,100, with the Employment Development Department noting that the agricultural industry has lost 113,000 farm jobs since June 2019.
Nine of California’s 11 industry sectors gained jobs last month, led by leisure and hospitality with 292,500 new jobs; the Employment Development Department said that was the largest job gain due to growth in accommodation and food services, which benefited from statewide reopenings of bars and dine-in restaurants. The sector has regained more than one-third of its job losses from March and April.
The Employment Development Department also reported that, percentage-wise, the construction industry has had the largest rebound since the historic losses in March and April, recovering 68 percent of jobs lost within the sector.
Government had the largest decline in June, with a loss of 36,300 jobs in state and local government educational services.
In other employment-related news, the Employment Development Department said there were 2,778,771 people certifying for Unemployment Insurance benefits during the June 2020 sample week, compared to 2,154,692 people in May 2020 and 307,704 people in June 2019.
The state said that, concurrently, 284,300 initial claims were processed in the June 2020 sample week, which was a month-over increase of 80,712 claims from May 2020 and a year-over increase of 239,732 claims from June 2019.
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.
Local, statewide unemployment numbers improve in June
- Elizabeth Larson
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