Counties with the highest unemployment in California
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Counties with the highest unemployment in California
Unemployment rates, while significantly lower than the alarming pandemic peak of 14.7% experienced in April 2020, remain a subject of concern, though experts’ views on a potential recession are mixed. The last economic recession—the Great Recession of 2007-2009—sent rates up to 10% as of October 2009. It was not until the spring of 2019 that unemployment finally went down to the same level it sits at now.
As of April 2023, national unemployment is at 3.4%, with little change from March. Seasonally adjusted unemployment rates by state demonstrate a rather sizable spectrum, ranging from just 1.9% in South Dakota to 5.4% in Nevada.
Stacker compiled a list of counties with the highest unemployment rates in California using data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Counties are ranked by their preliminary unemployment rate in March 2023, with initial ties broken by the number of unemployed people within that county, though some ties may remain.
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#50. Placer County
– March unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.7%
— 1 month change: No change
— 1 year change: Up 0.5 percentage points
– Total labor force: 196,609 people (7,286 unemployed)
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#49. San Diego County
– March unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.7%
— 1 month change: No change
— 1 year change: Up 0.1 percentage points
– Total labor force: 1.6 million people (59,400 unemployed)
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#48. Alameda County
– March unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.8%
— 1 month change: No change
— 1 year change: Up 0.3 percentage points
– Total labor force: 832,887 people (31,417 unemployed)
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#47. Inyo County
– March unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.9%
— 1 month change: Down 0.3 percentage points
— 1 year change: Down 0.3 percentage points
– Total labor force: 8,380 people (323 unemployed)
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#46. Mono County
– March unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.9%
— 1 month change: No change
— 1 year change: Down 0.3 percentage points
– Total labor force: 8,898 people (346 unemployed)
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#45. Ventura County
– March unemployment rate (preliminary): 4%
— 1 month change: Down 0.1 percentage points
— 1 year change: Up 0.2 percentage points
– Total labor force: 418,894 people (16,934 unemployed)
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#44. Contra Costa County
– March unemployment rate (preliminary): 4%
— 1 month change: No change
— 1 year change: Up 0.3 percentage points
– Total labor force: 555,946 people (22,055 unemployed)
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#43. El Dorado County
– March unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.1%
— 1 month change: No change
— 1 year change: Up 0.4 percentage points
– Total labor force: 94,745 people (3,889 unemployed)
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#42. Nevada County
– March unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.2%
— 1 month change: Up 0.1 percentage points
— 1 year change: Up 0.4 percentage points
– Total labor force: 48,762 people (2,037 unemployed)
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#41. Santa Barbara County
– March unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.5%
— 1 month change: Down 0.1 percentage points
— 1 year change: Up 0.5 percentage points
– Total labor force: 226,007 people (10,188 unemployed)
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#40. Sacramento County
– March unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.5%
— 1 month change: No change
— 1 year change: Up 0.4 percentage points
– Total labor force: 738,756 people (33,498 unemployed)
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#39. San Bernardino County
– March unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.5%
— 1 month change: No change
— 1 year change: Up 0.3 percentage points
– Total labor force: 1.0 million people (45,784 unemployed)
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#38. Calaveras County
– March unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.6%
— 1 month change: Up 0.2 percentage points
— 1 year change: Up 0.7 percentage points
– Total labor force: 22,512 people (1,041 unemployed)
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#37. Riverside County
– March unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.6%
— 1 month change: No change
— 1 year change: Up 0.4 percentage points
– Total labor force: 1.2 million people (52,966 unemployed)
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#36. Humboldt County
– March unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.7%
— 1 month change: Down 0.1 percentage points
— 1 year change: Up 0.5 percentage points
– Total labor force: 60,472 people (2,843 unemployed)
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#35. Solano County
– March unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.8%
— 1 month change: No change
— 1 year change: Up 0.2 percentage points
– Total labor force: 203,844 people (9,807 unemployed)
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#34. Los Angeles County
– March unemployment rate (preliminary): 5%
— 1 month change: Down 0.2 percentage points
— 1 year change: Down 0.2 percentage points
– Total labor force: 5.0 million people (251,121 unemployed)
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#33. Yolo County
– March unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.1%
— 1 month change: No change
— 1 year change: Up 0.7 percentage points
– Total labor force: 110,925 people (5,683 unemployed)
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#32. Alpine County
– March unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.3%
— 1 month change: Down 0.2 percentage points
— 1 year change: Down 0.5 percentage points
– Total labor force: 623 people (33 unemployed)
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#31. Mendocino County
– March unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.3%
— 1 month change: No change
— 1 year change: Up 0.9 percentage points
– Total labor force: 37,618 people (1,994 unemployed)
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#30. Tuolumne County
– March unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.6%
— 1 month change: No change
— 1 year change: Up 0.6 percentage points
– Total labor force: 20,039 people (1,123 unemployed)
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#29. Butte County
– March unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.7%
— 1 month change: No change
— 1 year change: Up 1.0 percentage points
– Total labor force: 94,148 people (5,325 unemployed)
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#28. Amador County
– March unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.8%
— 1 month change: Up 0.2 percentage points
— 1 year change: Up 1.0 percentage points
– Total labor force: 14,577 people (839 unemployed)
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#27. Del Norte County
– March unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.9%
— 1 month change: Down 0.1 percentage points
— 1 year change: Up 0.4 percentage points
– Total labor force: 9,385 people (551 unemployed)
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#26. Shasta County
– March unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.9%
— 1 month change: No change
— 1 year change: Up 0.8 percentage points
– Total labor force: 74,494 people (4,421 unemployed)
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#25. Lassen County
– March unemployment rate (preliminary): 6.2%
— 1 month change: Down 0.3 percentage points
— 1 year change: Up 0.8 percentage points
– Total labor force: 8,988 people (561 unemployed)
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#24. Lake County
– March unemployment rate (preliminary): 6.3%
— 1 month change: Down 0.1 percentage points
— 1 year change: Up 1.1 percentage points
– Total labor force: 29,002 people (1,828 unemployed)
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#23. Sierra County
– March unemployment rate (preliminary): 6.5%
— 1 month change: Up 0.3 percentage points
— 1 year change: Up 0.8 percentage points
– Total labor force: 1,292 people (84 unemployed)
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#22. San Joaquin County
– March unemployment rate (preliminary): 6.6%
— 1 month change: Up 0.1 percentage points
— 1 year change: Up 1.0 percentage points
– Total labor force: 351,210 people (23,261 unemployed)
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#21. Mariposa County
– March unemployment rate (preliminary): 6.7%
— 1 month change: Down 0.4 percentage points
— 1 year change: Up 1.0 percentage points
– Total labor force: 7,325 people (491 unemployed)
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#20. Tehama County
– March unemployment rate (preliminary): 6.7%
— 1 month change: Up 0.3 percentage points
— 1 year change: Up 1.6 percentage points
– Total labor force: 25,879 people (1,732 unemployed)
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#19. San Benito County
– March unemployment rate (preliminary): 6.7%
— 1 month change: Up 0.1 percentage points
— 1 year change: Up 0.9 percentage points
– Total labor force: 33,337 people (2,235 unemployed)
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#18. Santa Cruz County
– March unemployment rate (preliminary): 6.9%
— 1 month change: No change
— 1 year change: Up 0.9 percentage points
– Total labor force: 135,582 people (9,363 unemployed)
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#17. Stanislaus County
– March unemployment rate (preliminary): 6.9%
— 1 month change: Up 0.1 percentage points
— 1 year change: Up 1.0 percentage points
– Total labor force: 245,806 people (16,998 unemployed)
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#16. Glenn County
– March unemployment rate (preliminary): 7.1%
— 1 month change: Up 0.1 percentage points
— 1 year change: Up 1.6 percentage points
– Total labor force: 13,041 people (924 unemployed)
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#15. Trinity County
– March unemployment rate (preliminary): 7.2%
— 1 month change: Up 0.1 percentage points
— 1 year change: Up 2.0 percentage points
– Total labor force: 4,465 people (320 unemployed)
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#14. Yuba County
– March unemployment rate (preliminary): 7.7%
— 1 month change: Up 0.3 percentage points
— 1 year change: Up 1.7 percentage points
– Total labor force: 32,613 people (2,517 unemployed)
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#13. Siskiyou County
– March unemployment rate (preliminary): 7.9%
— 1 month change: No change
— 1 year change: Up 0.9 percentage points
– Total labor force: 16,694 people (1,318 unemployed)
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#12. Fresno County
– March unemployment rate (preliminary): 8.6%
— 1 month change: Up 0.3 percentage points
— 1 year change: Up 1.3 percentage points
– Total labor force: 467,030 people (40,067 unemployed)
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#11. Madera County
– March unemployment rate (preliminary): 8.7%
— 1 month change: Up 0.5 percentage points
— 1 year change: Up 1.8 percentage points
– Total labor force: 65,698 people (5,736 unemployed)
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#10. Modoc County
– March unemployment rate (preliminary): 9%
— 1 month change: Down 0.1 percentage points
— 1 year change: Up 2.0 percentage points
– Total labor force: 3,189 people (288 unemployed)
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#9. Sutter County
– March unemployment rate (preliminary): 9.6%
— 1 month change: Up 0.4 percentage points
— 1 year change: Up 2.0 percentage points
– Total labor force: 47,513 people (4,544 unemployed)
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#8. Monterey County
– March unemployment rate (preliminary): 9.6%
— 1 month change: Down 0.1 percentage points
— 1 year change: Up 1.0 percentage points
– Total labor force: 225,320 people (21,680 unemployed)
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#7. Kern County
– March unemployment rate (preliminary): 9.6%
— 1 month change: Up 0.6 percentage points
— 1 year change: Up 1.7 percentage points
– Total labor force: 392,252 people (37,581 unemployed)
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#6. Kings County
– March unemployment rate (preliminary): 9.7%
— 1 month change: Up 0.3 percentage points
— 1 year change: Up 1.5 percentage points
– Total labor force: 58,473 people (5,682 unemployed)
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#5. Plumas County
– March unemployment rate (preliminary): 11.2%
— 1 month change: No change
— 1 year change: Up 1.8 percentage points
– Total labor force: 7,219 people (810 unemployed)
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#4. Merced County
– March unemployment rate (preliminary): 11.2%
— 1 month change: Up 0.4 percentage points
— 1 year change: Up 2.1 percentage points
– Total labor force: 118,074 people (13,238 unemployed)
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#3. Tulare County
– March unemployment rate (preliminary): 11.3%
— 1 month change: Up 0.5 percentage points
— 1 year change: Up 2.5 percentage points
– Total labor force: 212,353 people (23,940 unemployed)
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#2. Imperial County
– March unemployment rate (preliminary): 15.6%
— 1 month change: Down 0.1 percentage points
— 1 year change: Up 3.3 percentage points
– Total labor force: 71,396 people (11,146 unemployed)
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#1. Colusa County
– March unemployment rate (preliminary): 19.2%
— 1 month change: Up 0.5 percentage points
— 1 year change: Up 4.2 percentage points
– Total labor force: 10,698 people (2,050 unemployed)
