County’s Jobless Rate Bumps Back up to 4 Percent

RIVERSIDE (CNS) – Gains in multiple sectors of the regional economy were offset by losses in others, pushing Riverside County’s unemployment rate back up to 4% last month, according to figures released Friday by the California Employment Development Department. The jobless rate in June, based on preliminary EDD estimates, was 4%, compared to 3.4% in May. According to figures, the June rate was over four percentage points lower than the year-ago level, when countywide unemployment stood at 8.4%, as the statewide coronavirus public health lockdowns were gradually eased. An estimated 43,500 county residents were recorded as out of work in June, and 1,101,000 were employed, according to EDD. Coachella had the highest unemployment rate countywide last month at 8.8%, followed by Cherry Valley at 7.4%, Mecca at 6.4%, Rancho Mirage at 6% and Hemet at 5.6%. The combined unemployment rate for Riverside and San Bernardino counties in June was also 4%, and also down from 3.4% in May, according to figures. Bi-county data indicated payrolls expanded by the widest margins in retail trade, warehousing and professional business services, which altogether added 6,000 positions in June. Additional gains were documented in the agricultural, health services, manufacturing and mining sectors, which swelled by an aggregate 3,400 jobs in June, according to EDD. Payrolls sank the largest in the leisure and hospitality sector, which shed 1,600 positions. Declines were also documented in the public sector and miscellaneous unclassified industries, which together lost 1,400. The construction, financial services and information technology sectors were unchanged. Data showed that the statewide non-seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in June was, like the Inland Empire, 4%. Copyright 2022, City News Service, Inc.