Riverside County’s jobless rate rises in June

RIVERSIDE (CNS) - Payroll losses offset gains throughout the regional economy, pushing Riverside County's unemployment rate back above 5% in June, according to figures released today by the California Employment Development Department.

The countywide jobless rate last month, based on preliminary EDD estimates, was 5.4%, compared to 4.7% in May.

The June rate was four-tenths of a percentage point lower than the year-ago level, when countywide unemployment stood at 5.8%.

The latest agency estimates indicated Cherry Valley had the highest unemployment rate within the county in June at 10%, followed by Blythe at 9.9%, Coachella at 8.9%, Rancho Mirage and March Air Reserve Base at 7.9%, and Cabazon at 7.5%.

The combined unemployment rate for Riverside and San Bernardino counties -- the Inland Empire -- was 5.3%, up from 4.6% in May, the EDD said.

Bi-county data indicated payrolls shrank by the widest margin in the public sector, where about 1,800 positions were recorded as lost, mainly in education, reflecting summer inactivity on campuses.

Additional losses were posted last month in the financial and hospitality sectors, along with miscellaneous unclassified industries, which altogether shed 700 jobs, according to the EDD.

Payrolls expanded in the agricultural, construction, health services, information technology, manufacturing, professional business services and warehousing sectors, which collectively added 2,800 positions, figures showed. The mining sector was unchanged.

The statewide non-seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate in June was 5.2%.