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Los Angeles County’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate edged upward to 5.8% in September from a revised 5.6% in August, according to state data released Friday.
The 5.8% rate was higher than the 5.2% that posted in September 2023, according to the California Employment Development Department.
The unemployment rate in Orange County registered 4.1% in September, down from a revised 4.5% in August and rising above the 3.8% figure from the same time last year.
The state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 5.3% in September, unchanged from the prior month.
Nationwide unemployment was 4.1% in September, 4.2% in August and 3.8% in September 2023.
Civilian employment increased by 8,000 to 4.785 million in LA County, while unemployment claims increased by 8,000 to 293,000, according to the EDD.
The LA County civilian work force increased in September to 5,078,000 in seasonally adjusted figures, the EDD reported.
The unadjusted unemployment rate in September for LA County was 6.0%, and from August to September, total nonfarm employment in increased by 6,100 to 4.577 million.
Private education and health services showed the largest gain in LA County with 12,600 jobs added in September.
Leisure and hospitality saw the biggest month-over loss of jobs with 8,700, the agency reported.
Inland Empire
Job gains in the regional economy lowered Riverside County’s unemployment rate last month, according to the EDD figures released Friday.
The county’s unadjusted preliminary jobless rate in September was 5.6%, compared with 6.2% in August.
The September rate was almost a half-percentage point above the year-ago mark, when Riverside County unemployment was 5.2%.
Mecca had the highest unemployment rate in the county in September with 13.4%, followed by Coachella’s 13.1%, Cherry Valley with 10%, Desert Hot Springs with 8.1% and Rancho Mirage’s 7.9% jobless rate.
The combined September unemployment rate for Riverside and San Bernardino counties — the Inland Empire — was 5.4%, reduced from 6% in August, the EDD said. The September jobless rate was 5.2% in San Bernardino County, down from 5.7% the previous month.
Combined data for both IE counties indicated payrolls grew the most in the public sector, which added 9,100 jobs. This was mostly in the education sector, as teachers, administrators and school support staff returned from summer breaks.
The agricultural, health services, information technology, professional business services and trade and transportation sectors added an aggregate 6,300 positions.
Payrolls declined by the largest margin in the construction sector, which shed 2,200 positions last month. Meanwhile, the financial services, hospitality and manufacturing industries collectively eliminated 2,300 jobs.
San Diego County
The unemployment rate in San Diego County declined in September to 4.6% from a revised 5.1% in August, and higher than the September 2023 rate of 4.2%, the EDD reported.
Between August and September total nonfarm employment added 4,700 jobs and increased from 1,559,400 to 1,564,100. The agricultural sector shed 400 jobs over the month.
Jobs in the government sector increased the most month-over with 7,400 new positions. The 5,800-job majority of the gains were in local government, led by government educational services.
The private education and health services sectors gained 1,900 jobs, while trade, transportation and utilities added 700 positions.
Seven sectors posted losses between August and September, totaling 5,300 jobs cut. The largest losses were leisure and hospitality’s 4,000 jobs. Other services, information, construction, manufacturing, financial activities, and professional and business services saw a combined loss of 1,300 jobs.
Compared with last year, total nonfarm employment rose by 15,600 jobs. Agricultural jobs reduced by 400 between compared with September 2023.
The sector that added most jobs was private education and health services — 12,700. The health care and social assistance subsector had 86% of those new positions.
