October unemployment remains in single digits for Merced County

Unemployment in Merced County crept up 1 percentage point in October to 9.1 percent as seasonal jobs in farming decreased, according to numbers released by the Employment Development Department.

From September to October, farming employed 100 fewer people countywide, the numbers showed.

“This is the time of year unemployment ticks up because farming is not as dominant because of seasonal hiring,” said Steven Gutierrez, a labor market analyst.

Last year, the EDD reported the October unemployment rate to be slightly higher than 10 percent in Merced County. Unemployment in the county remains higher than the state and national rates, which are 5.7 percent and 4.8 percent, respectively. The EDD released its report with preliminary numbers for October on Friday.

October was the fourth consecutive month that the unemployment rate remained in the single digits. It’s also the lowest October rate since 2007.

Government reported the largest increase in jobs, adding 500 in October. That’s mostly due to schools continuing to ramp up since the start of the school year, Gutierrez said.

In the Merced Union High School District, hours were increased for food service and health service employees, said Ralph Calderon, the assistant superintendent for human resources. The district also filled other open classified positions. Also, the district has a nurse at every campus for the first time, Calderon said.

Historically, California school districts have found it difficult to fill math, science and special education teaching jobs. Merced Union High School District has been able to fill some of those positions. “All of a sudden that’s increased,” Calderon said.

Statewide unemployment rates also are at the lowest in eight years, as employers added 41,200 jobs to their payrolls, state officials said.

The latest report from the state EDD suggests the California economy is continuing to improve steadily despite recent indications that the national economy is slowing down. The total of 41,200 new jobs was tops in the nation, according to federal statistics.

Statewide unemployment fell a tenth of a percentage point from a month earlier. It’s the lowest rate since October 2007, before the housing bubble burst and the nation was plunged into recession.

This story was originally published November 20, 2015 at 4:06 PM with the headline "October unemployment remains in single digits for Merced County."