Merced County’s jobless rate remains level at 10.3%

The unemployment rate in Merced County remained unchanged last month at 10.3 percent but was more than a percentage point down from the same time last year.

The county lost 200 farm jobs since the previous month but added jobs in other industries, according to numbers reported Friday by the Employment Development Department. The rate has improved since the 12 percent jobless rate measured in October 2013.

Pedro Vargas, a labor market analyst for EDD, said the loss of farm labor from month to month was relatively modest compared to other agricultural counties in the Central Valley. “The positive is it remains the same at 10.3 (percent) while other Valley counties’ (rates) went up,” he said.

Merced County also added 800 government jobs, 400 trade and transportation jobs, and 200 retail jobs.

As the calendar moves into the holiday shopping season, Vargas said, the county will begin to add more retail jobs but will tally losses in seasonal farm labor. Big-box stores are adding new hires to handle the rush of shoppers during Black Friday and the gift-buying days that follow. Merced has also added new retail buildings in AutoZone and Family Dollar that have opened or will soon.

Development in Merced that will attract industrial jobs is on the Merced City Council’s list of priorities. Frank Quintero, director of economic development for Merced, said the city has received interest this year from industrial developers. The majority are looking for sites with existing buildings, he said.

Consultants have said the city would benefit from developing some of its industrial sites, Quintero said, which would include running lines out to industrial parks that would give them power, water and Internet access. Industrial companies could provide a large number of jobs that many people in the region could qualify for.

California’s unemployment rate held steady at 7.3 percent, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The bureau said California employers added 41,500 jobs in October. That represented a sharp turnaround from the month before, when officials reported that California’s payrolls actually shrank by 9,800 jobs.

Economists have said the economy is gradually improving statewide. California’s unemployment rate was 8.6 percent a year ago, and payrolls have grown by 319,500 jobs in the past year, according to the bureau. Only Texas has added more jobs in that time, 421,900 jobs.

The Sacramento Bee contributed to this report.

This story was originally published November 21, 2014 at 11:57 AM with the headline "Merced County’s jobless rate remains level at 10.3%."