Valley unemployment continued to drop in May

Source: The Business Journal

The state unemployment rate dropped to its lowest point in nearly five years in May and all four Central Valley counties’ unemployment rates continued to improve, according to the monthly release from the Employment Development Department on Friday. The 8.1 percent statewide unemployment rate in May is the lowest it has been since November of 2008. However California still remains above the national rate of 7.3 percent. All of the four counties saw lower their month-over-month unemployment rates as many of the crops began to be harvested in May. The year-over-year unemployment rates also improved, however Kings County was the only county that did not see a decrease in its civilian labor force over the past year. Madera County remained the lowest of the four counties in the Valley, with an unemployment rate of 10.4 percent. That rate is down from 12.4 percent in April and 13.4 percent last May. Despite a 2 percentage drop in the year-over-year unemployment rate, the county only increased its total employment by 300 jobs or 0.7 percent. Its civilian labor force decreased by 0.3 percent during that time. Fresno County’s unemployment rate dropped to 11.8 percent in May—its lowest rate since October 2008—from 13.3 percent in April and 14.9 percent in May of 2012. Its year-over-year total employment increased by 800 jobs or 0.2 percent as the civilian labor force fell by 0.8 percent. Fresno County added 13,000 farm jobs in May. Tulare County saw its year-over-year unemployment rate drop 2.8 percentages to 12 percent in May from 14.8 percent in the same month in 2012. It was also below the 13.6 percent rate of this April. The total number of jobs for the county decreased by 900 or 0.6 percent and the civilian labor force shrunk by 1 percent. Kings County’s 12.1 percent unemployment rate in May was the highest of the four counties but it also had the largest percentage increase in year-over-year total employment. The unemployment rate dropped compared to April’s rate of 13.8 percent and last May’s rate of 14.9 percent. Kings County was the only one of the four counties to increase its civilian labor force over the past year, as it grew by 0.3 percent. The total year-over-year employment for the county increased by 500 jobs or 1.1 percent.

URL to original article: http://www.thebusinessjournal.com/news/employment/6624-valley-unemployment-continued-to-drop-in-may

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