The unemployment rate in Stanislaus County moved upwards in December as the region continues to see the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The unemployment rate was at 9.9% in December, up from an adjusted rate of 8.2% in November, according to the latest report from the Employment Development Department. The rate was well above the year-ago estimate of 5.6%.
Four sectors in Stanislaus County were able to not lose jobs in the month of December and of those four, two were flat. The Trade, Transportation and Utilities sector added an estimated 400 jobs for the month, the EDD reported. Even with the added jobs the sector is down for the year by approximately 3,400 positions.
The Educational and Health Services sector reported adding around 100 positions in December, but for the year is down by an estimated 2,100 positions.
The two sectors that were flat for the month were Information and Financial Activities.
The sector reporting the largest decline in jobs was Farming, which lost an estimated 1,500 positions. It’s not unusual for the Farming sector to see job declines in the winter months.
The sectors also showing significant drops in jobs for December were Leisure and Hospitality at 900 and Government at 800, according to the EDD. Both sectors also were down in jobs for the year, at 4,900 and 2,100 respectively.
Manufacturing and Professional and Business Services each reported losses of about 200 positions each. Manufacturing is down for the year by an estimated 500 jobs and Professional and Business Services is down by approximately 1,700 jobs for the year.
Mining, Logging and Construction dropped by about 100 jobs for the month, but the sector is flat for the year.
Merced County had an unemployment rate of 11.5% for December and San Joaquin County was at 10.6% for the month.
California had an unemployment rate of 8.8% and the nation was at 6.5% for the same time period.
California has regained more than 44 percent of the 2,615,800 nonfarm jobs that were lost due to the COVID-19 pandemic in March and April.
Six of California’s 11 industry sectors saw job gains last month. Construction had the state’s largest month-over increase (+31,600) thanks to strong gains in Specialty Trade Contractors and Construction of Buildings.
Professional and Business Services had the state’s second-largest month-over increase (+29,600) due to large gains in Accounting, Tax Preparation, and Bookkeeping, as well as Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting.
Leisure and Hospitality suffered the largest month-over loss (-117,000) largely due to severe losses in Accommodation and Food Services, which accounted for 83.2 percent of the industry sector’s overall loss.
The number of Californians with jobs in December was 17,260,100, a decrease of 91,700 jobs since November, and down 1,469,000 from December of last year.
In Stanislaus County the number of employed people in December was an estimated 211,700 and the number of unemployed people was approximately 23,400.
