SB County Unemployment Rate Increases To 7.3%
The October numbers released today by the State Employment Development Department (EDD) (however) reflect an improvement from 8.4% in October of a year ago.
Santa Barbara County’s unemployment ranking compared to the other 57 counties in California dropped one spot (from fifth to sixth) and ties with San Luis Obispo County for the sixth lowest rating in the state.
The California unemployment rate for October decreased to 10.1% from 10.2% from the previous month and from 11.5% for the same time period in 2011. The unemployment rate is derived from a federal
survey of 5,500 California households.
The U.S. unemployment rate increased in October to 7.9 percent.
“Even with the unemployment number increasing for October, we are still optimistic, as our industry sectors gained a significant number of jobs for the month” said Raymond L. McDonald, Executive Director of the Santa Barbara Workforce Investment Board. “twenty-three hundred jobs were added to our local industry” added Mr. McDonald. Two industry sectors (Professional & Business Services; Education & Health Services) continued to experience month to month job gains; while the government sector, which had lost 300 jobs last month, gained 2,500 in October. “We will continue to strive and work together to make a strong economy.”
The sectors with increased employment in October were:
Government (2,500+)
Educational and health services (400+)
Professional and business services (600+)
Sectors that lost jobs in October were:
Leisure and hospitality (400)
Sectors that remain unchanged in October were:
Information (0)
Trade, transportation, and utilities (0)
Financial activities (0)
Construction (0)
Manufacturing (0)
Mining and logging (0)
Other services (0)
Sub-County Areas
At the sub-county level, the five local cities with the highest increase (of .02%) in unemployment for the month of October were: Guadalupe, Isla Vista, Lompoc, Santa Maria, and Vandenberg AFB. The cities with no change in their local unemployment included: Montecito, Santa Ynez, Solvang and Vandenberg Village.
The cities of Lompoc and Guadalupe (at 12.9 and 12.5) continue to have the highest unemployment rate for the County.
ABOUT THE WORKFORCE INVESTMENT BOARD OF Santa Barbara COUNTY
The Workforce Investment Board, click here, is dedicated to serving the workforce needs of businesses, adults, laid-off workers and youth throughout Santa Barbara County. The WIB is a public/private partnership created by the Federal Workforce Investment Act (WIA) and is staffed by the County of Santa Barbara.
Job seekers and employers can take advantage of free services at two Workforce Resource Centers (“One-Stops”) to help find work or new employees. Programs include employment services for job seekers, the latest labor market information and regional workforce research for businesses, as well as training that specialize in helping people gain the skills and confidence necessary to find and obtain a job. The One-Stop Shops are at 1410 S. Broadway in Santa Maria, (805) 614-1550, and 130 E. Ortega Street in Santa Barbara, (805) 568-1296. Online information is available here.
For more information please click here or click here for the full statewide unemployment figures.
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