Unemployment Rate Drops In Riverside County

Riverside County’s jobless rate edged down in February, with modest growth in most sectors of the area economy, state officials reported today.

The county’s non-seasonally adjusted unemployment rate last month, based on preliminary estimates, was 14.1 percent, compared to 14.3 percent in January, according to the California Economic Development Department.

The February figure was roughly seven-tenths of one percentage point lower than a year ago.

The combined unemployment rate for Riverside and San Bernardino counties in February was 13.9 percent, down from 14.2 percent the prior month.

Bi-county data showed payroll expansion in all but four sectors of the Inland Empire economy. The biggest increase was in educational and health services, which added 2,300 positions.

The leisure and hospitality industry boosted hiring, with around 800 new positions, and about 500 jobs were added in construction — the first notable gains in that sector since August, according to the EDD.

Trade, transportation and utilities shed the most positions last month, recording a loss of about 2,000 jobs, mainly in retailing, figures showed.

The total size of the civilian labor force in Riverside and San Bernardino counties in February was 1,744,700, with 242,300 unemployed.

The state’s seasonally adjusted jobless rate was 12.3 percent, and the national rate was 8.9 percent.