LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – With spring in full swing and the county’s agriculture and tourism industries ramping up, the latest report on unemployment shows more promising news on jobs for Lake County and for the state as a whole.
The California Employment Development Department’s report on the April rate put Lake County’s unemployment for that month at 5 percent, down from a revised 5.5 percent in March and the year-ago estimate of 5.7 percent.
The April unemployment rate is the second-lowest for Lake County since 1990; the lowest was the 4.8-percent rate reported for September, based on Employment Development Department records.
April also was a very good month for the whole state. The Employment Development Department said California’s unemployment rate fell from 4.3 percent to 4.2 percent in April, a new record low in a series dating back to the beginning of 1976. In April 2017, the state’s unemployment rate was 5.0 percent. The unemployment rate is derived from a federal survey of 5,100 California households.
Helping the April rate was the fact that the state’s employers added 39,300 nonfarm payroll jobs. State officials said California has also now gained a total of 2,908,100 jobs since the economic expansion began in February 2010.
The Employment Development Department said nonfarm payroll jobs in California totaled 17,097,700 in April, at net gain of 39,300 jobs from March, which saw a revised gain of 5,400 jobs, based on a survey of 71,000 California businesses that measures jobs in the economy. The year-over change, April 2017 to April 2018, showed an increase of 356,800 jobs, or 2.1 percent.
A federal household survey showed an increase in the number of employed Californians over the year, estimating that the number of Californians holding jobs in April was 18,543,000, a decrease of 9,000 from March, and up 245,000 from the employment total in April of last year.
The state said the number of unemployed Californians was 815,000 in April – down by 13,000 over the month, and down by 139,000 compared with April of last year.
Nationwide, unemployment in April dropped from 4.1 percent to 3.9 percent, the lowest national unemployment rate since December of 2000, according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics. In April the nation’s employers added 164,000 nonfarm payroll jobs.
In Lake County, jobs grew by 18 percent in the total farm category and 0.9 percent in the total nonfarm category, according to state statistics.
Under the total nonfarm category, top subcategories showing growth included state government, 11.1 percent; nondurable goods, 4.8 percent; mining, logging and construction, 4.2 percent; and other services, 3.6 percent.
Losses were recorded in information, -9.1 percent; durable goods, -7.1 percent; and transportation, warehousing and utilities, -1.8 percent.
Statewide, 10 of California’s 11 industry sectors added a total of 40,700 jobs in April, according to the report.
The Employment Development Department said construction reported the largest increase with a gain of 10,000 jobs, followed by professional and business services (up 8,500), and trade, transportation and utilities, (up 6,900 jobs).
Other industry sectors that gained jobs over the month were educational and health services (up 4,700), other services (up 3,800), financial activities (up 2,700), information (up 2,100), government (up 1,000), leisure and hospitality (up 900), and mining and logging (up 100), the state reported.
Only one industry sector reported job declines over the month, manufacturing posted a loss of 1,400 jobs in April, the report showed.
In a year-over-year comparison – April 2017 to April 2018 – nonfarm payroll employment in California increased by 356,800 jobs, a 2.1-percent increase.
In a year-over comparison, the Employment Development Department said 10 of California’s 11 industry sectors added a total of 357,600 jobs.
The largest job gains were in educational and health services, up 83,500 jobs (a 3.2 percent increase), professional and business services, up 65,800 jobs (a 2.6 percent increase) and construction, up 59,500 jobs (a 7.4 percent increase), the state reported.
Other sectors that the Employment Development Department said added jobs over the year were leisure and hospitality, trade, transportation and utilities, government, information, manufacturing, financial activities and mining and logging.
Only one industry sector posted job declines over the year, other services, down a total of 800 jobs, according to the state.
In other employment-related business, the Employment Development Department said there were 390,362 people receiving regular Unemployment Insurance benefits during the April survey week. That compares with 403,184 in March and 388,142 in April of last year.
The agency said new claims for Unemployment Insurance were 40,848 in April, compared with 39,330 in March and 45,319 in April of last year.
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.
Employment rate improves for Lake County, California and the nation
- Elizabeth Larson
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