LAKE COUNTY — Lake County”s January 2008 unemployment rate was 10.4 percent, up from 9 percent in December and .7 percent the year before. A positive aspect for the county is for the year from January 2007 to January 2008, the county created 940 jobs, ending the period with 14,270 jobs, compared to nearby Mendocino County which created 330 jobs over the year.
The comparable California and U.S. rates were 6.3 and 5.4 percent respectively. Some surrounding county rates included 7.2. percent for Mendocino, and 5.2 percent for Sonoma. Marin had the lowest rate in the state with 4 percent and Colusa the highest at 19.6 percent.
Lake County is ranked 40 out of 58 counties in terms of unemployment, with 1 being the best and 58 the worst. Any county ranking from 1 to 29 is above average, according to Dennis Mullins of the state Employment Development Department (EDD) North Coast Labor Market Region.
“More industry sectors increased than declined. Some are to be expected because they are national trends. Lake County follows the normal trend in construction and real estate. With a ratio of at least 2-1 more sectors increasing, I think that”s positive,” Mullins said.
Jobs were added in seven industry sectors: farm; trade, transportation and utilities; information; private education and health services; government; and perhaps most noteworthy?manufacturing, which gained 20 jobs over the year. Mullins said the growth in manufacturing is significant because it is not seen nationally. He said nation-wide trends generally appear in individual county economies.
The government sector led industry gainers, adding 760 jobs over the year. Farm and private educational health services were up 220 and 110 respectively. Trade, transportation and utilities increased by 40 jobs. Financial activities gained 20 and other services added 10 jobs.
Natural resources, mining and construction led decliners dropping 100 jobs. Professional and business services and leisure and hospitality were down 90 and 50 respectively. The only industry sector that stayed the same was information.
Mullins said the year-ago decline of approximately 50 jobs in leisure and hospitality, from 1,190 jobs in January 2008 compared to 1,240 jobs a year before is “not a big decline” for a county that relies on agriculture and tourism, both seasonal industries.
“This decline in winter months for tourism is typical. And I think with more expensive fuel rates, the cost of gas and the situation with the housing industry, people have felt they have less disposable income to spend on tourism activities?I think it”s an area where people are tightening their belts,” Mullins said.
With both Mendocino County and Sonoma County having lower unemployment ranks than Lake County at 25 and 9 respectively, Mullins said it is “not entirely fair” to compare Lake County to its westerly neighbors.
“Lake County primarily has a large degree of agriculture and tourism types of industry, its not apples to apples. Those counties are diversified and have large populations. Mendocino has timber and fishing industries, and with that kind of diversity then it smoothes out the seasonal extreme in employment,” Mullins said.
He said neighboring Colusa County, with the highest unemployment rate in the state, at 19.6, would be a better comparison to Lake County because it has a similar population and an industry focused on agriculture.
February employment data will come out later this month. “There will be some changes to the data for February. We apply the latest census estimate and revise it to make it as accurate as possible. That”s what the benchmarking process is, and we look at the actual tax records for employers who participate in the employee insurance system,” Mullins said.
Contact Elizabeth Wilson at ewilson@record-bee.com.
