HUMBOLDT >> The Humboldt County unemployment rate reached its highest of the year in July, according to data released Friday by the California Employment Development Department. It hit 6.1% in July, up from a revised rate of 5.6% in June.
The local unemployment rate has steadily increased this year. But it hasn’t been this high since the pandemic.
“The last time Humboldt County had an unemployment rate of at least 6.1% was August 2021 with an unemployment rate of 6.8%,” researcher Brett Skinner of the California Employment Development Department said in an email.
The biggest hit was to government jobs, which dropped by 2,200 positions between June and July, a 14% drop. While the attack on federal government jobs has been a big talking point nationally this year, federal government jobs remain steady. The losses are in state government, state government educational services, and local government.
The state government educational services sector, which includes employees at College of the Redwoods and Cal Poly Humboldt, declined 38.1% or 800 jobs between June and July. While some job losses are expected in the sector for this time of year — summer session has fewer students — the drop is outside of what is expected. For comparison, last year, between June and July, there were 400 jobs lost in the sector.
“The state government educational services were lower than trends show,” Skinner said. “Since 2021, the losses between June and July have been between 300 and 500. This month the loss was 800, which is very unusual.”
Interestingly, the largest local employers in that sector say there were no layoffs.
The losses in the state government educational services sector did not come from College of the Redwoods, the college confirmed Friday.
“We are very happy to report that, due to the hard work of many of our staff and faculty, our enrollments grew last year and, unlike many of our sister colleges, did not have to lay anyone off. This is always one of our main goals,” CR spokesperson Molly Blakemore stated in an email to the Times-Standard.
Cal Poly Humboldt also said there were no layoffs in June or July.
“As with other campuses in the California State University system and higher education at large, Cal Poly Humboldt is addressing budget reductions as a result of the decreased state budget,” Cal Poly Humboldt spokesperson Iridian Casarez said in an email. “Our university has worked diligently over the past year to identify budget savings through operational expenses and positions. Any position under consideration for budget reductions is either vacant or will become vacant through attrition or retirement.”
The last time the state government educational services sector lost close to 40% of its labor force was in the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
In July, Humboldt County ranked 25th in the unemployment rate. It was tied with Trinity County and Mendocino County, which is a change in trends. Typically, Humboldt County fares better than neighboring counties. Del Norte County is ranked 39th with a jobless rate of 6.9%.
Among local cities, the highest unemployment rate is in Arcata at 9.4%, but many cities are higher than normal. Blue Lake’s unemployment was 7.5% in July; Ferndale was at 7.8% and Rio Dell was at 6.9%.
In total, the local job force dropped below 60,000 for the first time in months and lost 1,600 jobs.
California appears to be doing marginally better. The state gained 15,000 nonfarm jobs in July, which is a turnaround from 9,500 jobs lost in June, according to the EDD’s most recent revisions to the data.
The jobless rate in California rose to 5.5% in July, up from a rate of 5.4% in June. The July figure was the highest since December, a month that also produced a 5.5% level of unemployment, the state labor agency reported.
So far in 2025, California has lost 9,700 jobs, Bay Area News Group reported this week.
Ruth Schneider can be reached at 707-441-0520. The Bay Area News Group contributed to this report.
