Riverside County’s jobless rate falls ahead of holidays

RIVERSIDE, Calif. (KESQ) - Growth in payrolls across most sectors of the regional economy pushed Riverside County's unemployment rate down below 6% in November, according figures released today by the California Employment Development Department.

Statewide labor market figures for that month were released Friday, following delays stemming from the federal government shutdown in the fall, which impacted all data collection and publication by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, in turn affecting EDD's publication schedule.

The October data remains undetermined, leading the agency to skip over that month for now.  

The belatedly released figures for November indicated that the countywide jobless rate, based on preliminary EDD estimates, was 5.5%, compared to 6.1% in September.

According to data, the November 2025 rate nearly equaled the rate of November 2024, when countywide unemployment stood at 5.4%.   

The combined unemployment rate for Riverside and San Bernardino counties -- the Inland Empire -- was 5.4%, down from 5.9% in September, the EDD said.

Bi-county data indicated that, during November, payrolls expanded by the widest margin in the broad sector designated "trade, transportation and utilities," where an estimated 16,100 positions were added, largely in warehousing and logistics.

Additional gains were recorded in the agricultural, financial, health services, leisure, professional business services and public sectors, which grew by an aggregate 6,400 positions, according to figures.

Payrolls contracted by the largest amount in the construction sector, where cuts numbered about 2,700 in November. The manufacturing and mining sectors, along with miscellaneous unclassified industries, altogether shed 1,200 positions, EDD said.

The information technology sector was unchanged.   

The statewide non-seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in November was 5.4%, according to state officials.