Riverside County: No Jobs for You
An estimated 128,300 county residents were out of work in June
Thursday, Jan 7, 2010 | Updated 2:54 PM PST
FOTOPRESS/Phil Walter
Good luck finding a job in Riverside. The County's jobless rate spiked to a 16-year high in June as payrolls in the public sector and hospitality industry declined substantially, figures released Friday show.
The non-seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate in Riverside County, based on preliminary estimates, was 13.9 percent last month -- the highest level since July 1993, when unemployment was at 14 percent, according to the California Economic Development Department.
June unemployment was six-tenths of a percentage point higher than in May, and more than five percentage points above the June 2008 level, when unemployment hit 8.3 percent in the county, according to EDD data.
An estimated 128,300 county residents were out of work in June.
For Riverside and San Bernardino counties combined, the unemployment rate climbed to 13.7 percent last month, from 13.2 percent in May, according to the EDD.
Bi-county data showed local government posted the largest cut in payrolls, mainly in education, with a decline of nearly 2,000 positions.
EDD analyst Joe Briceno said the drop reflects a seasonal change, as teachers and other public school employees leave the labor market for summer recess.
The next biggest drop last month was in the leisure and hospitality industry, which shed roughly 1,000 positions. Most of the losses appeared to be in casual dining.
Farm sector employment increased dramatically, with 3,100 new jobs added in June, reflecting a seasonal spike in demand for field hands, according to the EDD.
The total size of the civilian labor force in Riverside and San Bernardino counties in June was 1,802,200, with 247,700 unemployed.
The state's jobless rate last month was 11.6 percent, and the national unemployment rate was 9.5 percent.
