Unemployment rate in Tulare County tops 18 percent

The number of Tulare County residents without jobs has soared to 18.3 percent.

The latest figures released Wednesday by the California Employment Development Department show that unemployment rate in Tulare County in January jumped just more than one percentage point since December, and more nearly three percentage points since the same time last year. Neighboring counties such as Fresno and Kern, fared equally, with unemployment rates of 18.2 in January.

“The numbers just keep climbing and it’s a reflection of what is going on nationally,” Sheila Urdesich, a labor market consultant for Kern, Kings, Tulare and Inyo counties, said. “Because of the seasonality of Valley jobs, we tend to have a higher unemployment than California as a whole.”

New federal labor data show that California’s unemployment rate remains the fifth highest in the nation.
The ranking was released Wednesday by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics ­­— the same day that the Senate voted to extend portions of last year’s federal economic stimulus package, that would include help for the jobless.

At a cost of about $130 billion — if passed in the House — the bill would dole more generous unemployment benefits, health care subsidies for the jobless and Medicaid aid to cash-starved states, like California.

“California entered the recession sooner, and with more severity, so we have more ground to make up,” Urdesich said. “But there are signs that eventually California will recover, at least to some degree. As the national economy continues to improve, so will California.”

Unemployment rates have increased in thirty states, while nine states showed rate decreases, and 11 states had no rate change, the labor bureau reported Wednesday.

Over the year, jobless rates increased in all 50 states. The national unemployment rate fell from 10.0 percent in December to 9.7 percent in January, but was up from 7.7 percent a year earlier.

California’s jobless rate of 12.5 percent in January remains well above the national rate.

The West had the highest unemployment rate of any region, at 10.8 percent.

In January, Tulare County lost 2,000 farm jobs since December, nearly half of all the 4,400 jobs that were lost. Overall, the number of jobs decreased from 144,100 jobs in December to 139,700 in January.

The unemployment rate statewide has increased 2.8 percent compared to the same time last year, with 701,000 jobs lost.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Contact Jenna Chandler at 784-5000, Ext. 1050, or jchandler@portervillerecorder.com.