Sonoma County unemployment rate stays at 2.5% in November

Unemployment in Sonoma County remained near an 18-year low in November, despite the loss of 3,200 jobs largely concentrated within the wine industry following the end of the 2018 grape harvest.

The county’s jobless rate was 2.5 percent in November, unchanged from October but still below levels from a year ago, when it stood at 3 percent, the state Employment Development Department said Friday.

A jobless level that low means the county is experiencing an extremely tight labor market and local employers are facing difficulty filling positions with new hires. Comparatively, economists consider 3 percent unemployment in any area the threshold for full employment, or the level at which local people seeking full-time work essentially all have jobs.

The county had the fifth-lowest unemployment rate in the state. Unemployment was ?3.9 percent in California and ?3.5 percent nationwide in November, unadjusted for ?seasonal forces.

Local employers added 4,600 jobs over the last year, boosting the number of wage and salary jobs to 217,900, although the pace of hiring slowed in November in Sonoma County for the first time in seven months.

The county’s agriculture sector shed 1,600 jobs between October and November, a seasonal decline that occurs every year when the annual $580 million grape crop has been brought in from the vineyards and crushed. Another 1,600 jobs were cut in business services, hotels and restaurants, construction and non-durable manufacturing.

In Mendocino County, unemployment rose to 3.7 percent in November, up from 3.5 percent in October. A year ago, it was 4.0 percent. The county lost ?580 jobs in October, reducing employment to 33,150.

In Lake County, the jobless rate rose to 4.8 percent in November, up from 4.7 percent in October. A year ago, it was ?5.3 percent.

The county lost ?340 jobs in October, shrinking employment to 16,810.

In Napa County, unemployment rose to 2.7 percent in November, up from 2.6 percent in October. A year ago, it was ?3.4 percent. The county lost 3,200 jobs in October, lowering employment to 76,700.