LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Lake County's unemployment numbers have continued to dip as the busy spring and summer season continues.
The California Employment Development Department's latest jobless report shows that Lake County's May unemployment rate was 6.9 percent, down from a revised 7 percent in April and 8.3 percent in May 2014.
California's unemployment rate, meanwhile, ticked slightly upward in May, rising to 6.4 percent from 6.3 percent in April, but continuing to improve over its May 2014 rate of 7.6 percent.
Nationally, unemployment in May was 5.5 percent, up from 5.4 percent in April but down from May 2015, when unemployment was 6.3 percent, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Lake County's May jobless rate is the lowest it has recorded since October 2006, according to Employment Development Department historical data.
The county's civilian labor force in May totaled 30,550 individuals with 2,110 unemployed, compared to a total of 29,990 people and 2,110 unemployed in April and 29,900 people and 2,480 unemployed in May 2014, the agency said.
All employment sectors in Lake County showed growth in May over April, with total farm having the largest increase, 28.3 percent, followed by federal government, 15.4 percent; information, 7.1 percent; mining, logging and construction, 4.2 percent; and transportation, warehousing and utilities, 3.6 percent.
Lake County's statewide rank for unemployment in May was No. 30 – the same rank as for April – compared to neighboring counties including Colusa, 13.7 percent, No. 57; Glenn, 8.7 percent, No. 45; Mendocino, 5.2 percent, No. 14; Napa, 4.1 percent, No. 5; Sonoma, 4.3 percent, No. 7; and Yolo, 6.1 percent, No. 22.
Across the rest of California, nonfarm jobs totaled 16,054,100 in May, an increase of 54,200 jobs over the month, according to a survey of 58,000 businesses The year-over-year change, May 2014 to May 2015, showed an increase of 465,700 jobs, up 3.0 percent.
A federal survey of 5,500 households showed an increase in the number of employed people, estimating the number of Californians holding jobs in May was 17,813,000, an increase of 59,000 from April, and up 487,000 from the employment total in May of last year, the Employment Development Department reported.
The number of people unemployed in California was 1,212,000 – up by 12,000 over the month, but down by 220,000 compared with May of last year, the agency said.
Regarding Unemployment Insurance claims, the Employment Development Department said there were 379,996 people receiving regular benefits during the May survey week, compared with 415,987 in April and 435,763 in May of last year.
At the same time, new claims for Unemployment Insurance were 42,929 in May, compared with 47,462 in April and 53,388 in May of last year, according to the report.
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.