- Elizabeth Larson
- Posted On
Lake County unemployment has nearly 3-point drop in August
The Employment Development Department said Lake County’s August unemployment rate was 8.8 percent, down from an adjusted 11.7 percent in July, 14.2 percent in June, 15.5 percent in May and 16.7 percent in April.
Lake County’s August 2019 unemployment rate was 4.5 percent, based on state records.
California’s overall unemployment rate improved to 11.4 percent in August, down from 13.5 percent last month but up from 3.9 percent from August of last year, the state said.
August’s statewide unemployment rate of 11.4 percent marked the first month since March 2020 that California’s unemployment rate was lower than the 12.3 percent mark set during the height of the Great Recession – March, October and November 2010 – according to the report.
The number of Californians holding jobs in August totaled 16,574,300, an increase of 291,700 jobs from a downward-revised (-11,300) July, but down 2,081,600 from the employment total in August of last year, the state said.
The report showed that the number of unemployed Californians was 2,134,600 in August, a decrease of 408,700 over the month, but up by 1,370,800 compared with August of last year.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics said the nation’s unemployment rate in August was 8.4 percent, down from 10.2 percent in July and more than double the 3.7 percent reported in August 2019.
In Lake County, the civilian workforce in August totaled 28,640, up by nearly 2,000 people over July, when the workforce numbered 26,960 members, according to the state report.
Locally, the total farm job category had the most growth in August, 37.2 percent, or 420 jobs, while still being down by 2.5 percent compared to 2019, the state said.
The Employment Development Department said the total nonfarm category was up by 9.2 percent in August compared with July, but down by 7.5 percent in the year-over comparison.
Total nonfarm’s main subcategories that showed growth in August were service providing, 10.3 percent; private service providing, 7.4 percent; and total private, 6.2 percent. Goods producing was down by 1.6 percent.
Lake County earned a statewide ranking of No. 24 for its August jobless rate, tying with Mendocino County.
Lake’s neighboring county jobless rates and ranks in the latest report are Colusa, 11 percent, No. 49; Glenn, 8.1 percent, No. 17; Napa, 8.3 percent, No. 19; Sonoma, 7.7 percent, No. 10; and Yolo, 7.5 percent, No. 6.
The county with the highest jobless rate in August remained Imperial, at 22.9 percent, while the lowest unemployment rate, 6.7 percent, was reported in Lassen County.
Details of statewide job picture
In August, California’s employers added 101,900 jobs, following July’s downward-revised gain of 83,500 jobs. The Employment Development Department said California has now regained nearly a third – 33.9 percent – of the 2,615,800 nonfarm jobs lost during March and April as a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
California payroll jobs totaled 15,874,400 in August 2020, up 101,900 from last month but down 1,598,200 from August of last year.
The month-over decrease in California’s unemployment rate (-2.1 percentage points) was larger than that of the nation as a whole (-1.8 percentage points).
Total nonfarm jobs decreased by 1,598,200 (a 9.1-percent decrease) from August 2019 to August 2020 compared to the U.S. annual loss of 10,246,000 jobs (a 6.8 percent decrease).
Six of California’s 11 industry sectors gained jobs in August: Government increased by 66,100, the largest job gain, due to federal temporary hiring for the 2020 Census and growth in local government education; trade, transportation and utilities’ increased by 26,000, buoyed by transportation and warehousing and general merchandise stores; professional and business services increased by 19,400; education and health services, 7,900; construction, 6,700; and manufacturing, 900.
Leisure and hospitality posted the largest industry job loss in August (-14,600), and 561,900 of the sector’s 633,000 year-over job losses have occurred since March 2020. Other services showed a drop of 5,700 jobs, information jobs declined by 4,300, mining and logging was down by 400 and financial activities decreased by 100.
The Employment Development Department said the number of jobs in the agriculture industry decreased by 3,400 from July, to 326,800 jobs in August 2020. The agricultural industry has lost 101,100 farm jobs since August 2019.
Update on Unemployment Insurance
The Employment Development Department also reported there were 2,837,209 people certifying for Unemployment Insurance benefits during the August 2020 sample week. That compares to 3,144,098 people in July 2020 and 309,691 people in August 2019.
Concurrently, the state said 196,855 initial claims were processed in the August 2020 sample week, which was a month-over decrease of 47,651 claims from July 2020, but a year-over increase of 162,080 claims from August 2019.
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