LAKE COUNTY – Lake County's unemployment rate in April showed a slight improvement over the previous month while the state's unemployment numbers remained flat, according to a state report.

That bit of good news for the county came in the latest California Employment Development Department report on state employment figures, released Friday.

Lake County's April unemployment rate was 18.5 percent, down from 19.6 percent in March, but still up from the 15.1 percent in April 2009, the Employment Development Department reported. The April numbers rank Lake County as No. 50 among California's 58 counties.

Last month, 4,700 members of the 25,340-member Lake County workforce were unemployed, according to state statistics.

The state's overall unemployment rate was steady at 12.6 percent in April, the same as March. Employment Development Department data showed that the April 2009 statewide unemployment rate was 11 percent, based on a federal survey of 5,500 California households.

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the nationwide unemployment rate for April was 9.9 percent, up from 8.9 percent in April 2009.

This April, the lowest unemployment in California was in Mono County, which posted a 8.2 percent unemployment rate, according to the Employment Development Department. At the other end of the spectrum, Imperial County had the state's highest rate, at 27.9 percent unemployment.

Lake's neighboring counties posted the following rates and state rankings: Glenn, 16.3 percent, No. 39; Mendocino, 12.0 percent, No. 20; Napa, 10 percent, No. 8; Sonoma, 10.6 percent, No. 12; and Yolo, 12.9 percent, No. 25.

Lake County's area of lowest unemployment was Upper Lake, at 9.6 percent, while Clearlake Oaks registered 27.1 percent unemployment, according to detailed state labor data.

The following unemployment rates were reported for other areas of the county, from highest to lowest: Nice, 26.6 percent; city of Clearlake, 26.2 percent; Lucerne, 19.5 percent; Kelseyville and Middletown tied with 18.8 percent; city of Lakeport, 17.9 percent; Cobb, 16.6 percent; Lower Lake, 15.5 percent; Hidden Valley Lake, 15.4 percent; north Lakeport, 14.7 percent.

Specifics of California's employment situation

California gained jobs in each of the first four months of 2010, with gains over the period totaling 56,400 jobs, the state reported.

Nonfarm jobs in California totaled 13,866,000 in April, an increase of 14,200 over the month, according to a survey of businesses that is larger and less variable statistically. The survey of 42,000 California businesses measures jobs in the economy.

The year-over-year change (April 2009 to April 2010) showed a decrease of 355,300 jobs (down 2.5 percent), according to the report.

A federal survey of households, done with a smaller sample than the survey of employers, showed an increase in the number of employed people during the month, the Employment Development Department reported.

That survey estimated that Californians holding jobs in April totaled 16,015,000, an increase of 76,000 from March, but down 306,000 from the employment total in April of last year. The number of people unemployed in California was 2,300,000 – down by 7,000 over the month, but up by 290,000 compared with April of last year.

The Employment Development Department's latest data showed that 729,211 people received regular

unemployment insurance benefits during the April survey week; when federal unemployment insurance extensions are included, the total is 1,529,448 people receiving benefits.

In March, 768,583 Californians received unemployment insurance and 853,607 did in April 2009, the state reported.

New claims for unemployment insurance were 83,896 in April, compared with 70,450 in March and 72,718 in April of last year, according to the state.

The state reported that five categories – mining and logging; professional and business services; leisure and hospitality; other services; and government – added jobs over the month, gaining 28,200 jobs. Government posted the largest increase over the month, adding 14,000 jobs.

Six categories – construction; manufacturing; trade, transportation and utilities; information; financial activities; and educational and health services – reported job declines over the month, down 14,000 jobs, the Employment Development Department reported. Manufacturing posted the largest decline over the month, down by 4,100 jobs.

In a year-over-year comparison – April 2009 to April 2010 – nonfarm payroll employment in California decreased by 355,300 jobs, down 2.5 percent, according to the report.

Two industry divisions – information, and educational and health services – posted job gains over the year, adding 37,300 jobs, the state report explained. Educational and health services recorded the largest increase over the year on both a numerical and percentage basis, up 32,100 jobs, a 1.9 percent increase.

Nine categories – mining and logging; construction; manufacturing; trade, transportation and utilities; financial activities; professional and business services; leisure and hospitality; other services; and government – posted job declines over the year, down 392,600 jobs, the data showed.

Construction employment showed the largest decline over the year on both a numerical and percentage basis, down by 92,300 jobs, a decline of 14.3 percent, the state said.

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