Sonoma County jobless rate hits 9.1 percent, a 26-year high

Sonoma County’s unemployment rate jumped to 9.1 percent in February — its highest since 1983 — driven by job losses in the retail sector, state analysts said Friday.

California’s jobless rate was 10.5 percent last month, up from January’s 10.1 percent.

In Sonoma County, seven out of 12 major industries shed jobs over the past year, said Devla Singh, a labor market consultant for the state Employment Development Department.

There were 8,400 fewer jobs last month than there were a year ago, a decline of more than 4 percent. Sales positions took a big hit as more stores cut staff or shut their doors in January and February.

Construction, manufacturing, finance, professional services, hospitality and health care also were down from last year.

Unemployment in the county has increased almost 88 percent since February 2008, when the jobless rate stood at 5 percent. Last month, the rate was 8.7 percent.

Ben Stone, director of Sonoma County’s Economic Development Board, said the latest jobless numbers reflect the growing number of retail store vacancies.

“That’s what you can see driving around,” he said. “The recession is widening and deepening.”

In recent months, large retailers including Mervyns, Circuit City, Linens ’N Things, Shoe Pavilion, Magnolia Audio Video and KB Toys, have closed their stores in Sonoma County. Next month, Home Depot will shutter its Yardbirds home improvement store in Petaluma.

Retailers overall are the county’s largest employers, providing about 30,000 jobs, Stone said. Department store positions are down by 600 — almost 17 percent — over the past year, according to state figures.

Retailing’s slump affects a variety of other businesses, including banks, wholesalers and professional services, Stone said.

“Retail trade is a very big part of our economy,” he said.

Sonoma County’s unemployment rate has climbed steadily as last year’s meltdowns in housing and finance spread to other industries. Construction has lost 2,200 jobs since early 2008, while manufacturing is down by 1,200. The finance sector, including banks, mortgage lenders and real estate services, lost about 700 jobs.

Business and professional services lost 1,500 positions and the hospitality sector 700.

Even education and health care — two seemingly bright spots in the recession — are down over last year, shedding 300 jobs.

Sonoma County is seeing a change in the mix of people seeking help from its Job Link service, said Karen Fies, who heads the county’s employment and training program.

“Last year, we had a lot of people from the mortgage industry,” she said. “Now we’re seeing more blue-collar workers.”

Still, there are jobs to be had, Fies said. Raley’s supermarket is hiring for a new store in Petaluma, and the county is planning job programs with federal stimulus funds, she said.

The county is getting $1 million to hire about 250 young people for trail and creek restoration projects this summer, Fies said.

The construction sector should get a boost from the federal government’s green energy program, she said.

“There’s some hope on the horizon,” Fies said.

Sonoma County’s February jobless rate was lower than the state average, but it exceeded the national rate of 8.1 percent.

Mendocino County unemployment was 11 percent in February, up from 10.8 percent in January.

In Lake County, February’s rate was 15.9 percent, down from 16 percent in January.

About 1.95 million Californians are unemployed — with 80,000 residents losing their jobs in February. Since February 2008, the state has lost more than 600,000 jobs, a 4 percent drop.

There was a glimmer of bright news in several industries. Information jobs were up by 7,900 in February over the previous month, and the state added nearly 31,000 teaching and health services jobs since February 2008, a 1.8 percent increase.

Colusa County had the state’s highest unemployment rate last month at 26.6 percent, while Marin County was the lowest at 6.8 percent.

This article includes information from the Associated Press. You can reach Staff Writer Steve Hart at 521-5205 or steve.hart@pressdemocrat.com.