Merced year-over jobless tally improves, statewide growth is sluggish

Merced County’s unemployment rate made a slight decline in February, dropping to 12.4 percent from 12.9 percent one year ago, according to numbers from labor market analysts.

There were 1,100 more jobs in the county in February than the same time last year, according to the Employment Development Department.

The manufacturing sector added 500 jobs, while educational and health services sector had 700 more jobs in Merced County than they did a year ago. There were smaller gains in four other sectors.

The government sector tallied 400 fewer jobs and professional and business services counted 200 fewer than a year ago, EDD said. Those numbers mirrored losses in January.

February’s unemployment rate was unchanged from the month prior.

The central San Joaquin Valley and the Inland Empire, though growing, have not experienced the kind of boom experienced along the coast, Sung Won Sohn, an economist at California State University, Channel Islands, said earlier this month.

Stanislaus County’s unemployment rate continued to drop in February, but — matching the statewide trend — job growth is slowing.

Stanislaus County reported its rate at 8.8 percent in February, down from 9.6 percent one year ago. The number also was below the revised 9 percent rate for January 2017, according to the California Employment Development Department’s monthly jobs report released Friday.

Statewide, the unemployment rate dipped to 5 percent, compared to 5.1 percent in January. The state added 22,900 jobs in February, up slightly from January’s 15,300 jobs.

Economist Jeffrey Michael from the University of the Pacific in Stockton said the latest data shows the market is “stabilizing.”

“I don’t expect it to move down much more,” he said of the unemployment rate.

This story was originally published March 24, 2017 at 4:53 PM with the headline "Merced year-over jobless tally improves, statewide growth is sluggish."