March Jobless Rate
RIVERSIDE (CNS) – Riverside County’s unemployment rate fell slightly last month amid a blend of gains and losses throughout the regional economy, according to figures released Friday by the California Employment Development Department.
The countywide jobless rate in March, based on preliminary EDD estimates, was 5.1%, compared to 5.2% in February.
According to figures, the March rate was one-tenth of a percentage point below the year-ago level, when countywide unemployment then stood at 5.2%.
Cherry Valley had the highest unemployment rate within the county in March at 10.6%, followed by Rancho Mirage at 8.2%, Coachella at 7.7%, Hemet at 6.8% and Nuevo at 6.5%.
The combined unemployment rate for Riverside and San Bernardino counties — the Inland Empire — was 5%, down from 5.1% in February, the EDD said.
Bi-county data indicated that payrolls increased by the widest margin last month in the public sector, which added 2,000 positions, mostly in education.
Additional gains were recorded in the health services and hospitality sectors, which expanded by a total 2,700 jobs, while miscellaneous unclassified industries added another 400, according to figures.
The largest drop in March was in the trade, transportation and utilities sector, which shed an estimated 5,000 jobs, mainly in warehousing. Further losses were documented in the agricultural, construction, financial services, information technology, manufacturing and professional business services sectors, which shrank by an aggregate 1,800 jobs, according to the EDD.
Only the mining sector was unchanged.
The statewide non-seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate in March was 5.3%.
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