Riverside County’s jobless rate falls in February

Riverside County’s unemployment rate dropped below 11percent last month as most sectors of the regional economy added jobs, a stateagency reported today.

The county’s non-seasonally-adjusted jobless rate in February, based onpreliminary estimates, was 10.9 percent, compared to 11.5 percent in January,according to the California Employment Development Department.

The rate was almost two percentage points below the level of February2012, when unemployment stood at 12.7 percent.

The civilian labor force last month numbered 953,800 people, with103,800 out of work, according to figures.

The city of Cabazon had the highest unemployment rate countywide, at27.2 percent, followed by Mecca at 21.8 percent and Homeland at 21.4 percent,according to the EDD.

The combined unemployment rate for Riverside and San Bernardino countiesin February was 10.8 percent, down from 11.5 percent the prior month.

Bi-county data indicated payrolls expanded in all but a few sectors. Thelargest increase was in educational and health services, where around 2,200positions were added. Roughly 5,000 jobs were added in other sectors.

Payrolls shrank in farming, manufacturing, mining, as well as leisureand hospitality, which altogether shed a total 3,000 jobs last month. Thebiggest drop was in trade, transportation and utilities, where 3,100 losseswere recorded. Retail trade accounted for most of the decrease, reflecting adecline in demand for seasonal workers after the holidays.

The state’s non-seasonally-adjusted jobless rate in February was 9.7percent, according to the EDD.