Lake County unemployment drops in September; state rate unchanged, national rate down
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — A new state jobless report shows that in September Lake County experienced its lowest unemployment rate since the pandemic began, while California’s overall rate remained unchanged.
The Employment Development Department on Friday released labor force data for September.
The report showed that Lake County’s unemployment was 6.2% in September, down from 7% in August. Lake County’s September 2020 jobless rate was 8.9%.
The lowest previous rate since last year’s pandemic onset for Lake County was 6.9% in May.
Additionally, this is Lake County’s lowest jobless rate since February 2020, according to state data.
A total of 570 unemployment claims were filed in Lake County in September, according to a state dashboard, compared to 837 in August. In September 2020, the state said 2,795 unemployment claims were filed in Lake County.
In September, California’s rate was 7.5%, unchanged from August. In September 2020, the state’s jobless rate was 10.6%.
The number of Californians employed in September was 17,594,600, an increase of 43,300 persons from August’s total of 17,551,300, and up 1,159,100 from the employment total in September of last year.
The state’s unemployed totaled 1,418,800, a decrease of 12,700 over the month and down 531,300 in comparison to September of last year.
The picture appeared better nationwide last month, when unemployment was 4.8%, down from 5.2% in August and 7.8% in September 2020, the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics reported.
In Lake County, job sectors showing growth last month were wholesale trade, 11.1%, and government, 2.3%.
Sectors that were down included total farm, which showed a decline of 28.1%; mining, logging and construction, down 2.1%; leisure and hospitality slipped by 1.6%; and educational and health services declined by 1.4%.
Lake County’s jobless rate in September ranked it No. 39 out of California’s 58 counties.
Neighboring county jobless rates and ranks were: Colusa, 8.4%, No. 55; Glenn, 5.7%, No. 29; Mendocino, 5.1%, No. 20; Napa, 4.6%, No. 8; Sonoma, 4.5%, No. 7; and Yolo, 4.7%, No. 12.
The lowest unemployment rate in the state in September was 3.6% in Marin. Imperial County had the highest, with 18.1%.
The statewide picture
California’s employers added 47,400 non-farm payroll jobs, which account for 24.4% of the nation’s 194,000 overall jobs gain in September 2021.
So far, California has now regained 1,723,800, or 63.5%, of the 2,714,800 jobs that were lost in March and April 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The state’s payroll jobs totaled 16,669,900 in September 2021, up from 16,622,500 in August 2021 and 15,874,100 in September 2020.
Nine of California’s 11 industry sectors gained jobs in September. Leisure and hospitality added 23,300 jobs last month thanks to strength in performing arts and spectator sports, with professional and business services posting a notable gain of 6,900 jobs thanks to increases in computer systems design and architectural and engineering services.
Job gains also were reported in manufacturing, 5,700; information, 5,000; government, 3,100; education and health services, 2,600; trade, transportation and utilities, 1,900; construction, 1,400; and financial activities, 1,300.
The “other services” sector registered the largest month-over employment decline with more than half of its 3,700 job losses coming in religious, grants, civic, and professional and like organizations. The other industry to report a job decrease was mining and logging, which reported 100 lost jobs.
The state said the number of jobs in the agriculture industry increased by 700 from August 2021 to 420,400 jobs in September. The agricultural industry has 16,900 more farm jobs in September 2021 than it did the September prior.
In related data that figures into the state’s unemployment rate, the Employment Development Department said there were 493,987 people certifying for Unemployment Insurance benefits during the September 2021 sample week. That’s compared to 638,976 people in August and 2,801,538 people in September 2020.
Concurrently, 78,878 initial claims were processed in the September 2021 sample week, which was a month-over increase of 15,325 claims from August, but a year-over decrease of 147,394 claims from September 2020, the Employment Development Department said.
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.