County's jobless picture brightens

Tulare County’s unemployment rate dipped to an even 15% in August, however the number of people employed still remained below most months.

The state Employment Development Department reported that 175,900 were working in the county during August, an improvement over July but far below the 183,900 employed in May.

August numbers were better than July when only 173,500 were working and last August when 175,600 were employed. The jobless rate of 15% was better than both July of this year (15.8%) and August of last year (15.7%).

The unemployment rate was the best since May when it was 14.7%

California’s unemployment rate dipped slightly in August to 10.6%, down from 10.7% the previous month, the state reported Friday.

The numbers are an improvement over California’s 11.9% unemployment rate a year ago and show the state’s economy is continuing its slow recovery.

The state added 12,000 nonfarm payroll jobs in August. The state has added nearly 300,000 new jobs over the past year, with job growth in 12 of the past 13 months. 

Half a dozen sectors grew in August, including construction, manufacturing, financial activities, and hospitality. The biggest gains were seen in the educational and health services sector, which added 8,900 jobs. 

In Tulare County, the biggest gains were in government jobs with 1,600 added in the month.

Porterville’s jobless rate in August was 13.8%, down from the 14.5% recorded in July. Lindsay’s jobless rate was 18.3%, also an improvement.

Other local jobless rates: Ducor, 23.1; East Porterville, 20.8; Poplar, 18.2; Springville, 14.2; Strathmore, 21.5; Terra Bella, 38.3; and Woodville, 15.2.

Visalia’s’ jobless rate was 9.4% and Tulare 12.9%.

The number of people unemployed in California fell by 27,000 in August to a little more than 1.9 million. But that was in part due to people giving up on active job searches. The total labor force shrunk by about 66,000 people. In Tulare County, the labor force grew by 1,000 people.

A forecast released this week projected that California job growth would pick up slowly in the coming year, with the unemployment rate dropping to 8.5 percent in 2014.

The UCLA Anderson Forecast predicted unemployment will remain in the double digits through 2013, although California’s tech boom has been helping the state outperform the nation in job creation since 2010.