Merced County’s 2015 unemployment rate is lowest in eight years

The job outlook in Merced County improved last year, with the average unemployment rate for 2015 reported to be 11.1 percent, the lowest it’s been since 2007.

Figures reported Friday by the Employment Development Department showed December’s unemployment rate at 11.9 percent, down from the 12.8 percent the county saw at the end of 2014.

December’s unemployment rate rose 1 percentage point compared to the month before. Seasonal farm jobs took the biggest dip, with 1,400 fewer in December than November, and several other sectors tallied a decrease in jobs, according to Steven Gutierrez, a labor market analyst with EDD.

The monthly unemployment rate in Merced County was nearly twice the state average of 5.8 percent.

The county’s annual unemployment average crested at 18 percent in 2010. “We’ve been seeing a steady decline since it peaked,” Gutierrez said.

Since November, the county lost 300 jobs in the manufacturing sector and 300 jobs in the “trade, transportation and utilities sector.” Manufacturing, in particular, is heavily related to the farm sector, where seasonal employment dropped since November, Gutierrez said.

Despite having a lower unemployment rate in December than the same time in 2014, the county had a total of 1,000 fewer jobs. That could be the result of the civilian labor force of 114,600 in December being 1,800 people smaller than the end of 2014.

There were 300 more leisure and hospitality jobs in December than the same time the previous year, a sign of improving consumer confidence, Gutierrez said. “(Consumers) help themselves to more food, drinks and vacations,” he said.

The statewide unemployment rate rose, although job growth was strong.

EDD said the unemployment rate grew a tenth of a percentage point despite a gain of 60,400 nonfarm payroll jobs. Payroll statistics and the unemployment rate are calculated from two separate surveys, and most economists say the payroll figures tend to be a more reliable indicator of the economy’s direction.

The December figures suggest the California economy continues to perform well despite suggestions of a slowdown in the global economy. Financial turmoil in China has hurt the stock market and the weakened global economy has already put a dent in California’s exports, for instance.

Sung Won Sohn, an economist at California State University, Channel Islands, said statewide tourism is also beginning to decline because of economic troubles in China, Latin America and Europe. He added that investors from Asia and Latin America have “stepped back” from buying California real estate.

California has added 459,400 jobs in the past 12 months, a gain of 2.9 percent.

This story was originally published January 22, 2016 at 5:34 PM with the headline "Merced County’s 2015 unemployment rate is lowest in eight years."