County unemployment drops to 10.6%
27,000 jobseekers in April, down from record high in March
Published: Friday, May 21, 2010 at 11:54 a.m.
Last Modified: Friday, May 21, 2010 at 11:54 a.m.
Sonoma County’s unemployment rate dropped to 10.6 percent in April, as the labor market added jobs for the second straight month, the state reported Friday.
“The jobs picture between March and April was better than expected,” said Ruth Kavanagh, labor market consultant for the Employment Development Department. “It looks like things are stabilizing.”
The jobless rate was a revised 11.4 percent in March. In April the county added 1,100 non-farm jobs, with gains in construction, manufacturing, health care, government, leisure and hospitality, and business and professional services.
About 27,000 residents were looking for work last month, down from a record 29,200 in March.
Still, the number of unemployed has grown 15 percent since April, 2009, when Sonoma County’s jobless rate was 9.1 percent. The local economy has lost 5,800 jobs over the past year.
It’s too soon to say the job market is on the rebound, said Ben Stone, director of Sonoma County’s Economic Development Board.
“We’re not out of the woods. One month does not make a trend,” he said. Troubles in the state, U.S. and global economies still threaten recovery.
Sonoma County unemployment will probably stay high for the rest of the year, said Robert Eyler, who heads the Center for Regional Economic Analysis at Sonoma State University. “I don’t see it dipping much below 10 percent in the next six months,” he said.
The county jobless rate stood at 11 percent or higher for the first three months of the year — the highest level since 1983.
Most of April’s job gain was seasonal, as the agriculture, construction and tourism industries geared up for summer, Eyler said. Construction added 200 jobs and tourism gained 300 over March.
But other sectors also grew, including health care by 300 jobs and manufacturing by 200. Retail trade was the only category to lose jobs, shedding 100 in April.
“There’s some strength going into the summer season,” said Eduardo Martinez, senior economist at Moody’s Economy.com, which tracks Sonoma County job trends.
Sonoma County’s labor force is still down by about 2,600 from last year, a sign that some have given up on finding work. “There are still plenty of discouraged people,” Martinez said.
Those who’ve stopped looking aren’t counted in the jobless rate.
California unemployment was unchanged at 12.6 percent last month. The U.S. jobless rate increased to 9.9 percent in April.
The state added 14,200 non-farm jobs last month, for its fourth straight month of employment gains. But California still has 355,300 fewer jobs than it did a year ago.
About 2.3 million were unemployed last month, up 290,000 since April, 2009. There were 83,896 new claims for unemployment insurance, a 19 percent increase from March.
More than 1.5 million Californians are now receiving benefits.
Other counties in the region also saw a decline in unemployment last month. Mendocino reported 12 percent, down from a revised 13 percent in March.
The jobless rate in Lake was 18.5 percent in April, compared to a revised 19.6 percent the month before.
Napa reported 10 percent, down from a revised 10.8 percent in March.
Marin County had the state’s second-lowest unemployment last month, 8.3 percent. It was a revised 8.9 percent in March.
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