Merced jobless rate rises; still the best December since 2006

The loss of 1,600 jobs from November to December drove up the unemployment rate in Merced County to 10.8 percent, according to numbers released Friday by the Employment Development Department.

Despite the loss of jobs, Merced County remains in a better position than a year ago, said Steven Gutierrez, a labor market analyst.

“Still the lowest (unemployment rate) for December since 2006,” he said.

The bulk (1,300) of the jobs lost from November to December were seasonal farm labor jobs. December also counted 100 fewer jobs in “mining, logging and construction,” “trade, transportation and utilities” and “professional and business services.”

The 10.8 percent jobless rate also snapped a four-month streak in Merced County of single-digit unemployment, Gutierrez said. The average unemployment rate for the 12 months of 2016 worked out to 10.4 percent, the lowest average since 2007, he said.

California unemployment fell to 5.2 percent last month, although payrolls grew by an anemic 3,700 jobs, the state reported Friday.

The statewide unemployment rate dipped by a tenth of a percentage point in December, the EDD reported. But the addition of just 3,700 payroll jobs across the state was remarkably weak and suggests the state’s economy may be slowing down.

Payrolls grew by just 12,900 jobs in November.

The monthly release came a week after Gov. Jerry Brown, introducing his budget proposal for the upcoming fiscal year, warned that California is facing a deficit of as much as $2 billion as tax revenue slows.

“The downturn is inevitable,” he told reporters at the Capitol last week.

Unemployment rates and payroll job figures are calculated from two different surveys, and economists generally believe the payroll figures are more reliable.

This story was originally published January 20, 2017 at 3:51 PM with the headline "Merced jobless rate rises; still the best December since 2006."