LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Employment prospects in Lake County appeared to have improved in April, with state officials reporting a drop in the number of out-of-work county residents.
The California Employment Development Department’s latest unemployment report said Lake County’s unemployment rate was 12.8 percent in April, down from 14 percent in March and 15.6 percent in April 2012.
Based on Employment Development Department statistics, Lake County’s April unemployment rate is the lowest since November of 2008.
In April unemployment also dropped across California to 9 percent from 9.4 percent in March and 10.7 percent from April of last year. Like Lake County, in April California saw its lowest unemployment rate since November 2008, according to historical reports.
The U.S. unemployment rate also decreased in April to 7.5 percent, down from 7.6 percent in March. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics data shows that’s the lowest nationwide unemployment since December 2008.
Marin, with 4.6 percent, had the lowest unemployment in the state, while Imperial had the highest, with 24 percent, according to the report.
Dennis Mullins of the Employment Development Department’s North Coast Region Labor Market Information Division reported that Lake was ranked No. 44 among the state’s 58 counties for unemployment in April.
Mullins said Lake’s neighboring counties registered the following April unemployment rates: Colusa, 19.9 percent; Glenn, 12.4 percent; Mendocino, 8 percent; Napa, 5.9 percent; Sonoma, 6.5 percent; and Yolo, 9.4 percent.
Total Lake County wage and salary employment increased 10 jobs between March and April and is up 90 jobs for the year over. Eight industry sectors gained or remained unchanged and three declining for the year-over period, according to Mullins.
He said year-over job growth occurred in the farm (+160) and government (+80) categories, with no changes in mining, logging and construction; trade, transportation and utilities; information; financial activities; private educational and health services; and other services.
Industry sectors with declines over the year included manufacturing (-10), professional and business services (-10), and leisure and hospitality (-120), Mullins said.
California’s employment picture
California saw an overall gain of 10,400 nonfarm payroll jobs in April, rising to a total of 14,602,200, according to a survey of 42,000 California businesses. The state has seen 756,900 jobs created since the recovery began in February 2010, the Employment Development Department said.
The Employment Development Department said a second survey it uses to calculate the state’s jobless rates – a federal survey of households, done with a smaller sample than the survey of
employers – also shows an increase in the number of employed people.
The agency said that survey estimated the number of Californians holding jobs in April was 16,951,000, an increase of 71,000 from March and up 443,000 from the employment total in April 2012.
The number of people unemployed in California was 1,673,000, down by 76,000 over the month, and down by 303,000 compared with April of last year, following a gain of 25,200 jobs in March, the Employment Development Department said.
During the April survey week, 497,274 Californians received regular unemployment insurance benefits, compared to 532,831 in March and 552,163 the previous April, the Employment Development Department reported.
Also in April, new claims in California for unemployment insurance were 50,977, compared with 58,842 in March and 63,212 in April 2012, the agency reported.
The report said that seven categories – construction; manufacturing; trade, transportation and utilities;
financial activities; educational and health services; leisure and hospitality; and other services – added jobs in April, gaining 23,300 jobs. Construction posted the largest increase over the month, adding 7,400 jobs.
On the losses side, three categories – information, professional and business services, and
government – reported job declines over the month, down 12,900 jobs. Professional and business services posted the largest decrease over the month, down 6,000 jobs. One category, mining and logging, was unchanged over the month, according to the report.
In a year-over-year comparison – April 2012 to April 2013 – nonfarm payroll employment in California increased by 273,100 jobs, up 1.9 percent, the agency said.
Eight categories – construction; trade, transportation and utilities; information; financial activities; professional and business services; educational and health services; leisure and hospitality; and other services – posted job gains over the year, adding 287,500 jobs, the Employment Development Department said.
Professional and business services posted the largest gains on a numerical basis, adding 71,500 jobs, up 3.2 percent, the report showed, while construction posted the largest gains on a percentage basis, up 7.7 percent, adding 44,800 jobs.
The report said that three categories – mining and logging; manufacturing; and government – posted
job declines over the year, down 14,400 jobs.
Manufacturing posted the largest declines on a numerical basis, down by 10,500 jobs, a 0.8-percent decrease, while the report said mining and logging posted the largest declines on a percentage basis,
decreasing by 1.7 percent, down 500 jobs.
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.