December Jobless Rate Drops
RIVERSIDE (CNS) – Payroll gains outweighed losses across the regional economy last month, pushing Riverside County’s unemployment lower, according to figures released Friday by the California Employment Development Department.
The countywide jobless rate in December, based on preliminary EDD estimates, was 5%, compared to 5.4% in November.
According to data, the December rate was one-tenth of a percentage point below the year-ago level, when countywide unemployment stood at 5.1%.
The combined unemployment rate for Riverside and San Bernardino counties — the Inland Empire — was 4.9%, down from 5.3% in November, the EDD said.
Bi-county data indicated payrolls expanded by the widest margin in the trade and transportation sector, mainly in retailing and warehousing, which added 1,600 positions amid the holiday shopping season.
The financial services, information technology and manufacturing sectors grew by an aggregate 900 positions, according to figures.
Payrolls shrank in the agricultural, construction, health services and professional business services sectors, which altogether shed an estimated 3,800 jobs.
The hospitality, mining and public sectors were unchanged, along with miscellaneous unclassified industries, according to data.
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