LAKE COUNTY — Lake County unemployment continues to sink, dropping 1.5 percentage points in May to 17.1 percent from the April rate and 2.5 percentage points from the March rate.
The employment boost came largely from an increase in farm, government and leisure and hospital jobs, which could mean many of those jobs are seasonal and temporary, said Dennis Mullins of the Labor Market Information Division of Employment Development Department. Total industry employment in the county increased by 670 jobs from April to May.
Leisure and hospitality employers hired 140 more people in May, though compared with last year the industry is still down 100 jobs, Mullins said.
“People are still keeping a tight belt,” Mullins said. “People aren”t spending even as much as they did last year on tourism.”
Mullins said a large number of the 120 people hired in federal government jobs in May are likely temporary census jobs that will disappear in the fall.
The farming industry also hired on 330 more jobs than it did in April, a normal seasonal occurrence, Mullins said.
The labor force in the county creeped up by 450 people, keeping unemployment somewhat high because the rate is based on labor force and unemployment, Mullins said.
“It seems really high to Lake County residents,” Mullins said. “It”s because that large number of labor force coming in, not all those people get work immediately.”
Though unemployment was 14.7 percent last year, 2.4 percentage points lower than this May, Mullins said the Lake County economy is swinging back.
“It”s better than going the other way,” Mullins said.
Lake County also skipped ahead of two counties with higher unemployment, jumping from 50 to 48 of 58 counties, one having the lowest unemployment at 7.9 percent in Marin and 58 having the worst of 27.5 percent in Imperial County, EDD reported.
The California rate is 11.9 percent, up 0.9 percentage points over the year. The comparable U.S. rate is 9.3 percent, up 0.2 percentage points over the year.
Contact Katy Sweeny at kdsweeny@gmail.com or call her directly at 263-5636, ext. 37.
