As the midway point of 2025 approaches, unemployment numbers are down across the board, according to preliminary data provided by the State of California Employment Development Department (EDD).
May marked the fourth straight month in which rates decreased in Stanislaus and Merced counties. The national tally has also seen a steady decline since the start of the year.
May’s numbers, released just over a week ago, shows Stanislaus County posting a 6.6% unemployment rate, translating to roughly 17,300 people without work. It’s down by about 500 people, which meant a 6.9% rate in April.
In Merced County, the unemployment rate decreased from 10.4% in April to 9.6% in May, lowering the number of those without work by 900 to roughly 12,000.
According to the data, there are approximately 1,800 folks without work in Turlock and 200 in each Denair, Keyes, Hilmar and Hughson.
Comparatively, the national unemployment came in at 4.0%, proving some stability in the labor market as the number has hovered between 4.0 and 4.2% since May of 2024. As for the state rate, California posted an unemployment rate of 4.9%, down by one-tenth of a percentage point.
The figures come as the labor forces have seen significant increases in each local county. In the last month, the labor force in Stanislaus County rose by 1,300, while Merced County saw a rise of 1,600. There are currently 261,200 members of the civilian labor force in Stanislaus County, while the count is 125,100 in Merced County.
The main catapult in job growth across each county has been the farming industry, as a total of 5,100 jobs were added between the two regions (2,500 in Stanislaus and 2,600 in Merced). Also adding jobs was the government, hiring 300 and 400 in Stanislaus and Merced counties, respectively, across the federal, state and local levels. Merced County also saw an increase in the manufacturing industry, adding 300 jobs.
Industries in the most demand of workers are the same for each county — health care and social assistance, retail, and manufacturing.
There are currently 1,059 online job listings in the health care and social assistance sector in Stanislaus County, while there are 643 and 423 in the county for retail and manufacturing, respectively.
In Merced County, there are 281 listings in health care and social assistance, 202 in retail, and 135 in manufacturing.
Those on the hunt for a job can find resources at www.edd.ca.gov/en/jobs.
