LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Despite a modest rise in Lake County's unemployment level in July, the new rate still remained below recession levels, according to the state's latest report on joblessness.
Lake County's July unemployment rate was 9.7 percent, up from a revised 9.1 percent in June but below the year-ago estimate of 11.5 percent, the Employment Development Department reported.
California's July unemployment rate was 7.4 percent, the same rate that was reported in June but improved compared to the 9 percent rate the state registered in July 2013.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics said the nation's July unemployment rate was 6.2 percent, compared to 6.1 percent in June and 7.3 percent in July 2014.
In July California's nonfarm jobs totaled 15,492,500, an increase of 27,700 jobs over June, according to a survey of 58,000 California businesses used to measures jobs in the economy. The year-over-year change, July 2013 to July 2014, showed an increase of 323,600 jobs, or an increase of 2.1 percent.
At the same time, a federal survey of 5,500 households used to measure the unemployment rate showed a decrease in the number of employed people.
That survey estimated that 17,209,000 Californians held jobs in July, a decrease of 31,000 from June 2014, but up 283,000 from the employment total in July of last year.
The number of people unemployed in California was 1,371,000 – down by 8,000 over the month, and down by 306,000 compared with July of last year, the Employment Development Department reported.
Lake County earned a statewide unemployment ranking in July of No. 40, while Marin County again had the lowest jobless rate, 4.4 percent, and Imperial County had the highest, 24.7 percent.
Lake's neighboring counties ranked as follows in July, according to the Employment Development Department: Colusa, No. 57, 13.5 percent; Glenn, No. 48, 11.1 percent; Mendocino, No. 14, 6.6 percent; Napa, No. 4, 5.1 percent; Sonoma, No. 6, 5.8 percent; and Yolo, No. 22, 7.3 percent.
The summer farming season in Lake County continued to add jobs in July, with the “total farm” category increasing by 33.6 percent over June while “total nonfarm” was down by 2.5 percent, according to Employment Development Department data.
Within the total nonfarm category, areas of growth included information, 6.7 percent; financial activities, 2.4 percent; other services, 2.1 percent; leisure and hospitality, 1.9 percent; and retail trade, 0.9 percent.
Declines were seen in government, -10 percent; mining, logging and construction, and goods producing, tied at -2.6 percent; and educational and health services, -0.5 percent, the data showed.
The Employment Development Department reported that there were 426,224 people statewide receiving regular Unemployment Insurance benefits during the July 2014 survey week, compared with 418,927 in June and 510,998 last year.
New claims for Unemployment Insurance were 56,565 in July 2014, compared with 62,749 in June and 67,382 in July of last year, the department said.
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.