LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — The Lake County jobless rate was down slightly in April, while the state rate remained unchanged.
Lake County’s unemployment rate for April was 7.6 percent, down from 7.9 percent in March, according to the California Employment Development Department.
Statewide, unemployment held steady at 8.3 percent for the second month.
In April 2020, Lake County’s unemployment rate — as well as the statewide rate, were both 16 percent.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics said the nationwide unemployment rate in April was 6.1 percent, compared to 6 percent in March and 14.8 percent in April 2020.
In Lake County in April, total nonfarm jobs increased by 1.2 percent while the total farm jobs industry was down, -11.8 percent, over the previous month.
Total nonfarm job subcategories that showed the largest growth compared to March included transportation, warehousing and utilities, 30.5 percent; state government, 11.8 percent; mining, logging and construction, 10.1 percent; trade, transportation and utilities, 5.4 percent; and goods producing, 5.2 percent.
The five subcategories with the largest declines were information, -11.1 percent; wholesale trade, -10 percent; nondurable goods, -6.9 percent; government, -6.2 percent; and manufacturing, -5.6 percent.
Lake County was ranked No. 33 out of California’s 58 counties in this latest jobless report.
Neighboring county jobless rates and ranks for April are: Colusa, 13 percent, No. 57; Glenn, 6.9 percent, No. 25; Mendocino, 6.5 percent, No. 20; Napa, 6.3 percent, No. 17; Sonoma, 5.7 percent, No. 7; and Yolo, 6 percent, No. 11.
Marin had the lowest unemployment, 4.6 percent, while Imperial County’s 16.1 percent ranked it No. 58.
The state employment picture
California payroll jobs totaled 16,248,200 in April 2021, up by 101,800 from March 2021 and up by 1,302,100 from April 2020, the report said.
California’s April job gain accounts for 38 percent of the national gain of 266,000 jobs.
From February through April, the Employment Development Department said California added 390,300 total nonfarm payroll jobs, marking the state’s third consecutive month of gains over 100,000 jobs.
Seven of California’s 11 industry sectors gained jobs in April. Leisure and hospitality (+62,800) continued to have the state’s largest month-over increase thanks in large part to full-service restaurants. Professional and business services (+19,000) also posted a large gain thanks to strength in professional, scientific, and technical services, as did other services (+10,500) with an increase in personal care services.
Leisure and hospitality and other services, the hardest hit sectors during the pandemic, combined for nearly two-thirds of California’s job gains over the past three months.
Information (-3,500) saw the largest month-over industry sector loss, largely due to a decrease in software publishers.
The number of jobs in the agriculture industry decreased by 8,000 from March 2021 to 413,900 jobs in April. The agricultural industry had 44,700 more farm jobs in April 2021 than it did the April prior.
The Employment Development Department said there were 579,498 people certifying for Unemployment Insurance benefits during the April sample week. That compares to 680,279 people in March and 1,889,250 people in April 2020.
Concurrently, 78,640 initial claims were processed in the April 2021 sample week, which was a month-over decrease of 17,572 claims from March and a year-over decrease of 246,876 claims from April 2020, the state reported.
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.
Lake County unemployment edges down in April
- Elizabeth Larson
- Posted On