LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – January saw Lake County's unemployment inch upward, while state and national unemployment rates edged down.

The California Employment Development Department's monthly report on unemployment – based on two separate surveys – showed that California’s unemployment rate decreased to 10.9 percent in January, and nonfarm payroll jobs decreased by 5,200 during the month, for a total gain of 322,400 nonfarm jobs since the recovery began in September 2009.

In December, the state’s unemployment rate was 11.2 percent, and in January 2011 the unemployment rate was 12.1 percent. The unemployment rate is derived from a federal survey of 5,500 California households, the report explained.

The U.S. unemployment rate decreased in January to 8.3 percent from 8.5 percent in December, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The nationwide unemployment rate for January 2011 was 9.1 percent.

Lake County's unemployment rate went from 16 percent in December to 16.5 percent in January, but was down 2.5 percent from January 2011 when it hit 19 percent, according to the report.

The county's statewide ranking for employment improved from 52 in December to 43 in January among the state's 58 counties, according to Employment Development Department data.

Dennis Mullins of the Employment Development Department's North Coast Region Labor Market Information Division said Lake County wage and salary employment decreased in January “following normal seasonal trends.”

Total jobs in Lake County decreased 60 jobs between December and January, but the county's jobs were up by 420 over this time last year, Mullins said.

Year-over-year job growth occurred in farm, 390; trade, transportation and utilities, 50; financial activities, 10; professional and business services, 40; and other services, 60, according to Mullins.

Manufacturing and leisure and hospitality had no change in job numbers since January 2011, Mullins reported.

He said industry sectors that showed job declines over the year included mining, logging and construction, with a loss of 40 jobs; information, 10; private educational and health services, 20; and government, down by 60, the sector with the largest decline.

According to the Employment Development Department report, surrounding counties' employment figure were as follows: Colusa, 27 percent, No. 58; Glenn, 16.8 percent, No. 45; Mendocino, 10.7 percent, No. 18; Napa and Sonoma County both had 9.2 percent unemployment, tying for ninth place; and Yolo, 14.1 percent, No. 33.

Marin County continued to have the lowest unemployment in the state, at 6.6 percent, while Colusa County's 27-percent rate gained it the state's highest rate.

The Employment Development Department reported that there were 575,895 people receiving regular
unemployment insurance benefits during the January survey week. That's compared with 536,442 in December and 603,946 in January 2011.

At the same time, new claims for unemployment insurance were 59,344 in January 2012, compared with 80,276 in December and 63,331 in January of last year, according to the report.

Small increase noted in employed Californians

The federal survey of households, done with a smaller sample than the survey of employers, showed an increase in the number of employed people.

It estimated the number of Californians holding jobs in January was 16,443,000, an increase of 28,000 from December, and up 308,000 from the employment total in January of last year.

The number of people unemployed in California was 2,020,000 – down by 40,000 over the month, and down by 203,000 compared with January of last year, according to the report.

EDD’s report on payroll employment – wage and salary jobs – in the nonfarm industries of California totaled 14,173,800 in January, a net loss of 5,200 jobs since the December survey. That followed a gain of 38,500 jobs in December and a year-over-year increase of 126,100 jobs, up 0.9 percent, based on a survey of 42,000 California businesses.

Six categories – mining and logging; construction; manufacturing; trade, transportation and utilities; professional and business services; and leisure and hospitality – added jobs over the month, gaining 35,400 jobs, the state reported. Trade, transportation and utilities posted the largest increase over the month, adding 14,400 jobs.

Five categories – information, financial activities, educational and health services, other services and government – reported job declines over the month, down 40,600 jobs, according to the state.

Information posted the largest decrease over the month, down 22,900 jobs. In a year-over-year comparison – January 2011 to January 2012 – nonfarm payroll employment in California increased by 126,100 jobs, an increase of 0.9 percent.

Six categories – mining and logging; manufacturing; trade, transportation and utilities; professional and business services; educational and health services; and leisure and hospitality – posted job gains over the year, adding 181,700 jobs, the Friday report showed.

Professional and business services posted the largest gain on a numerical basis, adding 61,000 jobs, up
2.9 percent. The report said that mining and logging posted the largest gain on a percentage basis, up by
3.6 percent, an increase of 1,000 jobs.

Five categories – construction, information, financial activities, other services and government – posted job declines over the year, down 55,600 jobs. The state said government posted the largest decline on both a numerical and percentage basis, down by 41,400 jobs, a decrease of 1.7 percent.

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