MENDOCINO Co., 8/23/21 — Mendocino County has added roughly 1,260 jobs to the labor force since January, according to July data from the state Employment Development Department (EDD), giving the county one of the lower unemployment rates in California. With an estimated work force of 37,010 and just 2,340 jobless claims, Mendocino County has an unemployment rate of 6.3 percent — placing 19th out of 58 on a list of California counties with the highest unemployment rate. Governor Gavin Newsom said in a statement Friday that unemployment is at the lowest statewide since March of 2020, when the pandemic hit.
“California continues to lead the nation’s economic recovery, adding 114,400 new jobs in July – more new jobs than any other state, and the fourth time this year of six-figure job gains,” Newsom said in a statement about the July jobs report. “We’ll continue to lead with the science and data, prioritizing vaccinations and supporting those workers and small businesses hit hardest by this pandemic, to create the conditions for a robust economic recovery.”
Our county rate is down, slightly, from 6.4 percent in June — due to an additional 360 positions that have been added to the labor force. It’s down significantly from 7.7 percent in January. So far Mendocino County’s monthly low for 2021 has been 5.9 percent in May. Additional labor market information for Mendocino County is available from the state at https://www.labormarketinfo.edd.ca.gov/geography/mendocino-county.html.
We’re doing better than the statewide average of 7.6 percent. Humboldt came in at No. 21, with 6.4 percent. Lake came in at No. 36, with 7.4 percent. Sonoma County also had one of the lowest unemployment rates statewide, coming in No. 7, with 5.6 percent. Marin County had the lowest unemployment rate in California at 4.5 percent. Imperial County, which borders Mexico and Arizona, had the highest unemployment in the state at 18.9 percent — but those numbers are heavily influenced by the seasonal nature of migrant agricultural labor. You can check out the data yourself below: