Stanislaus and Merced counties saw unemployment rates decline during the month of September, according to the latest data provided by the State of California Employment Development Department.
In Stanislaus County, the unemployment rate dropped from 5.2 percent in August to 4.8 percent in September. Meanwhile, the Merced County unemployment rate dropped from 6.8 percent in August to an even 6 percent. These numbers come as Stanislaus County saw a labor force decrease of 2,100 workers and Merced County saw an increase of 2,000 workers. In total, there is a current labor force in Stanislaus County of 241,200 with 11,500 of those individuals unemployed. In Merced County, there are now 119,100 individuals in the labor force and 7,200 of those experiencing unemployment.
The city with the least unemployment in the Turlock Journal’s coverage area is Hilmar, which has an unemployment rate of only 1.8 percent, meaning that there are less than 50 unemployed individuals in the city.
The industry that saw the most job growth in Stanislaus County was the Local Government Education sector, which added 700 jobs in September. At the same time, the Goods Producing industry lost 1,000 workers.
In Merced County, the largest growing industry was the farming industry as there were 1,500 jobs added. The sector that saw the most drop-off, meanwhile, was the Trade, Transportation & Utilities industry after losing 200 employees.
The unemployment rate in Turlock currently stands at 4 percent as there are approximately 1,400 individuals unemployed in the city.
There are 1,100 unemployed individuals in Denair making the town’s unemployment rate stand at 7 percent. In Hughson, there are around 100 unemployed individuals, which is a 3.3 percent unemployment rate. Keyes also has around 100 members of the labor force unemployed, making their unemployment rate a similar 3.5 percent. In Delhi, there are around 400 people unemployed, which is a 7 percent unemployment rate. Livingston similarly has about 400 individuals unemployed, which is a 5.6 percent unemployment rate.
According to the EDD’s job vacancy dashboard, there are over 8,150 job listing in Stanislaus County, with the three most in-demand industries being health care, retail and manufacturing jobs. The dashboard shows that there are over 2,300 job listings in Merced County, with the three most in-demand industries being health care, education and retail jobs.
The City of Turlock has partnered with the Employment Development Department (EDD) and the Turlock Chamber of Commerce to host a local job fair. The event will take place on from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. today at the New Life Christian Center in Turlock. There will be over 60 employers in attendance.
The job fair is free to the public, and those planning to attend are encouraged to dress for success and bring a résumé. Employers expected to attend include Amazon, City of Turlock, Valley Milk, United Cold Storage, Super Store Industries FreshPoint, Northern Refrigerated, UPS, Golden Valley Health Centers, Garton Tractor, Hilmar Cheese, Gallo Glass, Divert, Covenant Living and more.
