LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — In May Lake County registered the lowest unemployment rate in decades as California and the nation as a whole saw jobless rates continue to drop to levels improved far beyond those of the months leading to the pandemic.

The Employment Development Department said Lake County’s preliminary May jobless rate was 3.8%, down from 4.5% in April and 7.5% in May 2021.

Last month’s jobless rate for Lake County was its lowest unemployment recorded since 1990, according to Employment Development Department records. Second lowest was 4.1% recorded in September 2019.

California’s unemployment rate dropped to 4.3% from 4.6% in April, compared to 8.3% in April 2021.

On the national level, unemployment has remained unchanged at 3.6% since March, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The national jobless rate in May 2021 was 5.8%.

In Lake County, total farm jobs increased by 12.9% in a month-over comparison, with total nonfarm jobs up by 0.8%.

Unemployed residents totaled 1,090 in May, down from 1,280 in April and 2,140 in May 2021. At the same time, the civilian labor force grew from 28,420 in April to 28,490 in May; that number for May 2021 was 28,500.

Statewide, employers added 42,900 nonfarm payroll jobs to the economy in May, with California’s jobless rate now just 0.2 percentage points higher than the pre-pandemic unemployment rate of 4.1 percent in February 2020.

California has now regained 93% — or 2,565,100 — of the 2,758,900 nonfarm jobs lost during March and April of 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The state has enjoyed month-over gains in nonfarm jobs in 15 of the past 16 months totaling a 1,481,800 job gain over that time period.

Of the 390,000 U.S. nonfarm jobs gained in May, California accounted for 11% of them.
At 869,300 jobs, California had the largest absolute year-over seasonally-adjusted job increase in the nation in May 2022.

California payroll jobs totaled 17,498,100 in May 2022, up from 16,628,800 in May 2021.

The number of Californians employed in May was 18,469,200, an increase of 121,000 persons from April’s total of 18,348,200 and up 1,054,500 from the employment total in May 2021.

At the same time, the number of unemployed Californians was 835,100 in May, a decrease of 45,900 over the month and down 663,500 in comparison to May 2021.

The report said total nonfarm jobs increased by 869,300, or 5.2%, from May 2021 to May 2022 compared to the U.S. annual gain of 6,541,000 jobs, a 4.5% increase.

The number of jobs in the agriculture industry increased from April by 6,300 to 420,200 jobs in May. The agricultural industry had 17,300 more farm jobs in May 2022 than it did in May a year ago, the report said.

The Employment Development Department said eight of California’s 11 industry sectors gained jobs in May with Information (+8,800) posting the largest increase. The sector’s growth was due in part to increases in the Motion Picture and Sound Recording industries.

Leisure and hospitality, which suffered some of the largest losses in the pandemic, showed strong growth yet again with 8,800 jobs added and has now gained 816,900 jobs since April 2020 after losing nearly one million jobs due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In Lake County, leisure and hospitality grew by 2.3%, or 30 jobs, in a month-over comparison, and has grown by 10.1%, or 120 jobs, since May 2021.

Trade, transportation, and utilities suffered the largest month-over job loss — a drop of 3,700 jobs — due to reductions in retail trade, specifically general merchandise stores.

In Lake County, trade, transportation, and utilities grew by just 0.3%, or 10 jobs, and was down by 1.9%, or 60 jobs, in a year-over comparison.

Lake County’s unemployment rate ranked it No. 38 statewide of the state’s 58 counties.

San Mateo had the lowest jobless rate, at 1.7%, while Imperial had the highest with 11.4%.

Lake’s neighboring county jobless rates and ranks were: Colusa, 8.5%, No. 57; Glenn, 4.1%, No. 41; Mendocino, 2.9%, No. 22; Napa, 2.3%, No. 7; Sonoma, 2.3%, No. 7; and Yolo, 2.8%, No. 19.

In related data that figures into the state’s unemployment rate, the Employment Development Department said there were 330,412 people certifying for Unemployment Insurance benefits during the May 2022 sample week. That compares to 345,743 people in April and 569,512 people in May 2021.

Concurrently, 39,610 initial claims were processed in the May 2022 sample week, which was a month-over decrease of 3,943 claims from April and a year-over decrease of 31,649 claims from April 2021.

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.