- Elizabeth Larson
- Posted On
California unemployment rate has record one-month jump in March; Lake County rate hits three-year high
The California Employment Development Department’s latest report on joblessness shows the state’s unemployment rate rose from a record low of 3.9 percent in February to 5.3 percent in March.
That 1.4-percent jump in joblessness from February to March was California’s largest unemployment rate increase on record in a data series going back to 1976, the Employment Development Department reported.
The number of Californians holding jobs in March was 18,244,100, a decrease of 512,600 from February and down 293,700 from the employment total in March of last year, the state said.
At the same time, the number of unemployed Californians was 1,020,100 in March, an increase of 260,800 over the month and up by 201,200 compared with March of 2019.
California paid out $407 million in unemployment benefits in March, the EDD reported.
The federal Bureau of Labor Statistics said that, nationwide, the unemployment rate in March was 4.4 percent, compared to 3.5 percent in February and 3.8 percent in March of last year.
The agency said unemployment rates were higher in March in 29 states and the District of Columbia, lower in 3 states and stable in 18 states.
In Lake County, unemployment in March rose to 7 percent, up from 5.8 percent in February and 5.9 percent over the previous year. The March jobless rate was the highest for Lake County since January 2017.
Based on the Employment Development Department’s historical data, Lake County’s 1.2-percent jobless increase between February and March is the largest month-to-month increase that Lake County has experienced since November 2010, as it was still recovering from the prolonged fallout from the Great Recession.
On the local level, the Employment Development Department said the effects of the pandemic couldn’t be quantified yet but that the “it is likely that the unseasonable changes in the industry employment and labor force data can be ascribed to the effects of the illness and efforts to contain the virus.”
The agency also reported that the March survey reference period, the week that contains the 12th day of the month, predated many coronavirus-related business and school closures in the second half of the month.
In Lake County, the number of unemployed in March numbered 2,060 individuals, up from 1,690 unemployed persons in February.
Month-over job decreases in Lake County were primarily in the federal government, -6.3 percent. Other sectors showed minor job gains.
Lake County was ranked No. 32 out of California’s 58 counties for its March jobless rate.
Neighboring county jobless rates and ranks for March are: Colusa, 22.4 percent, No. 58; Glenn, 8.7 percent, No. 44; Mendocino, 5.9 percent, No. 26; Napa, 4 percent, No. 9; Sonoma, 3.6 percent, No. 5; and Yolo, 5.9 percent, No. 26.
A look at state industries
Last month, California’s employers lost 99,500 nonfarm payroll jobs, according to data the EDD released that was based on two surveys – a federal survey of 5,100 California households that determines the unemployment rate and a federal survey of 80,000 California businesses that determines nonfarm payroll job numbers.
The state said the March job losses ended a record job expansion in California of 120 months, which surpassed the long expansion of the 1960s.
In the recent expansion, which followed the Great Recession, California had gained 3,417,700 jobs, which accounted for 15.0 percent of the nation’s 22,789,000 job gain over the same timeframe, the EDD said.
The EDD said that California’s Payroll jobs totaled 17,505,000 in March 2020, down 99,500 from February 2020, but up 150,400 from March of 2019.
The March job loss was the fourth-largest on record and driven by declines in six of California’s 11 industry sectors, the state reported.
The biggest job loss was reported in the leisure and hospitality sector, which posted a loss of 67,200 jobs, which the Employment Development Department said was due in part to losses and closures related to full-service restaurants as well as food services and drinking places.
The state said other large losses were seen in the “other services” category, which saw a drop of 15,500 jobs, and the loss of 11,600 jobs in construction.
The Employment Development Department said the government job category, which had a larger-than-normal increase of 5,200 jobs, was mostly due to a rise in local government employment, in addition to a boost from the federal government thanks to the U.S. Census.
In March 2020, there were 424,645 people receiving unemployment insurance benefits, up 52,266 from February 2020 and up 36,878 from March of last year. There were 186,479 people who filed new claims, up 144,652 from February and up 146,514 from March of last year.
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