Riverside County unemployment rate declines slightly in September

Gains across multiple sectors of the regional economy last month pushed the Riverside County unemployment rate lower, according to figures released Friday by the California Employment Development Department.

The countywide jobless rate in September, based on preliminary EDD estimates, was 5.2%, compared to 5.4% in August.

According to figures, the September rate was more than a percentage point above the year-ago level, when countywide unemployment stood at 3.9%.

An estimated 60,200 county residents were recorded as out of work last month, and 1,096,300 were employed, according to EDD.

Mecca had the highest unemployment rate countywide in September at 12.6%, followed by Coachella at 11.1%, Cherry Valley at 9.4%, Rancho Mirage at 7.4% and East Hemet at 7.2%.

The combined unemployment rate for Riverside and San Bernardino counties — the Inland Empire — last month was 5%, down from 5.3% in August, according to figures.

Bi-county data indicated that payrolls increased by the widest margin in the public sector, mainly in education, as teachers and support staff returned to full-time employment following schools’ summer hiatus.

Additional gains were recorded in the agricultural, construction, health services, hospitality and transportation sectors, which altogether expanded by 6,500 jobs, data showed. Miscellaneous unclassified industries boosted payrolls by around 100, according to the EDD.

The financial servces, information technology and professional business services sectors posted losses totaling 1,300 jobs in September, figures showed.

Only the mining sector was unchanged.

Data indicated the statewide non-seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate last month was 4.9%.