LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The unemployment rate in Lake County dropped to the lowest level in more than a decade in September, with California's jobless rate also down while the national jobless rate remained flat.
Lake County's September unemployment rate in the Lake County was 6 percent, down from 6.5 percent in August, and below the year-ago estimate of 7.8 percent, according to data from two separate surveys released Friday by the California Employment Development Department.
California’s unemployment rate – derived from a federal survey of California households – decreased to 5.9 percent in September, dropping below 6 percent for the first time since November 2007, the Employment Development Department reported.
For comparison, the state’s August unemployment rate was 6.1 percent, and in September 2014, the unemployment rate was 7.3 percent, based on the report.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the U.S. unemployment rate was 5.1 percent in September, unchanged from August.
Lake County's 6-percent September unemployment is the lowest rate reported for the county since August 2001, when unemployment was 5.8 percent, according to a review of Employment Development Department data.
At the same time, Lake County's civilian labor force dropped from 30,980 people in August to 30,140 people to September, but still topped the 30,000 workforce members recorded in September 2014.
While thousands of people were impacted by the Valley fire in September, it's not yet clear how many jobs or workers were lost as a result, and at least preliminarily that drop in members of the workforce appears to be linked to industry patterns, particularly farming.
Between July and August the workforce grew from 30,040 to 30,980 people, while farming jobs grew from 1,310 to 1,840. Farming jobs subsequently dropped to 1,240 in September.
Jobs across all industries totaled 16,720 in September, down from 17,350 in August, the height of the county's pear season.
Total farm jobs declined by 32.6 percent, while all industries were down 3.6 percent.
In September, Lake County's 6-percent unemployment rate ranked it No. 34 statewide.
Lake's neighboring counties were ranked as follows: Colusa, 9.2 percent, No. 56; Glenn, 6.7 percent, No. 41; Mendocino, 4.6 percent, No. 13; Napa, 3.6 percent, No. 4; Sonoma, 3.8 percent, No. 6; and Yolo, 5.3 percent, No. 20.
San Mateo County had the lowest unemployment rate, 3 percent, while Imperial's 21.6 percent rate earned it the No. 58 ranking.
Details on state employment picture
California's nonfarm payroll jobs increased by 8,200 during September to total 16,199,000, for a total gain of 2,077,700 jobs since the recovery began in February 2010, according to a survey of 58,000 California businesses that measures jobs in the economy.
The year-over-year change – September 2014 to September 2015 – showed an increase of 444,300 jobs, up 2.8 percent, the report said.
The federal survey of 5,500 state households showed an increase in the number of employed people, estimating the number of Californians holding jobs in September was 17,884,000, an increase of 12,000 from August, and up 400,000 from the employment total in September of last year.
The number of people unemployed in California was 1,121,000 – down by 43,000 over the month, and down by 255,000 compared with September of last year, the Employment Development Department reported.
On Friday the Employment Development Department also reported that there were 343,419 people receiving regular Unemployment Insurance benefits during the September survey week, compared with 367,255 in August and 392,823 in September of 2014.
New claims for Unemployment Insurance were 40,821 in September, compared with 43,332 in August and 52,279 in September of last year, the state reported.
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Lake County's September unemployment at lowest level in more than a decade
- Elizabeth Larson
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