Y-S unemployment sees slight increase in January

The Yuba-sutter area’s unemployment rate increased slightly in January after the area lost a total of 1,700 jobs across all industries.

The unemployment rate for the area was 10.2 percent, up from 9.9 percent in December and above the year-ago estimate of 8.4 percent.

The local rate was higher than both the state average (9.2 percent) and national average (6.8 percent) in January, according to the California Employment Development Department.

Yuba County had an unemployment rate of 10.1 percent in January, ranking it 47 out of the state’s 58 counties.

Sutter County had a rate of 10.2 percent, ranking it 48th in the state.

While the farming industry saw a reduction of 300 jobs, non-farming industries took the biggest hit. Industries that experienced a reduction in available jobs included government (600 jobs); leisure and hospitality (400); trade, transportation and utilities (300); and mining, logging and construction (200). The only industry to see job growth was education and health services with the addition of 100 available jobs.

Compared to the same month in 2020, there were 3,700 fewer jobs in the area in January – a reduction of 4,100 non-farming jobs, combined with the addition of 400 farming jobs. The industries that have taken the biggest hit over the past year include leisure and hospitality (1,800 jobs), and government (1,300).

Colusa County had an unemployment rate of 15.6 percent in January, ranking it 57th in the state. Only Imperial County had a higher unemployment rate (16.5 percent).