Fewer residents employed
Nearly 400 businesses closed from January through September
Employment numbers between October and November for Butte County were disappointing, but not unexpected, according to the state labor analyst who covers the area.
“There were 2,600 less people employed in November than October,” noted Sheila Stock, state Employment Development Department analyst. “So it doesn’t look like anyone got a job this month,” Stock said Friday when the state figures were released.
Butte County’s unemployment rate for November was 6.8 percent, down from 7.1 percent in October.
While the percentage looked good, the underlying issues included a decline in the number of residents working, which dropped from 89,300 in October to 86,700 in November. The labor force — those people able to work — went from 96,200 in October to 93,000 in November, amounting to 3,200 fewer people in Butte County that could hold a job.
Why they left is anyone’s guess, Stock said, “But it’s not encouraging for people to be leaving the labor force. We’ll be watching that over the next few months.”
Stock said the state doesn’t track why a person leaves the workforce. In a monthly tabulation, the state talks to employers mid month to get a feel about their workforce numbers. Workers could leave to follow educational goals, to retire, or just stop looking.
Neither does the state track who leaves California, she said.
On the brighter side quoting a state economist she heard, “One month does not make a trend.”
Industries in Butte County that shrunk in October to November job counts included construction, manufacturing, education and government. One that added jobs was retail, pulling in 100 jobs, but Stock noted that count was before the second shutdown and those gains likely disappeared under the new shut- down order.
“It’s a tough season for a lot of the smaller businesses. Hopefully they can hang in there.”
Stock noted there was hope that retail would be bolstered by the holidays but her feeling is that retailers kept the workers
they had rather than adding seasonal ones.
“They had a feeling that what they had was just right.”
Lost businesses
A new internal report that Stock said she’d just seen includes permanent business closures since January that are based on employers’ “end of liability” report, as in liability for employees
For Butte County, from January to September, 399 businesses permanently shut. Most of them shut in March.
Stock noted the reporting companies are ones with employees, so it wouldn’t
include self- employed individuals, which would make that a higher number.
The report did not break down what types of businesses closed nor their location in Butte County, she said.
“It’s just a flat number.” As far as how that trend played out in other nearby counties, she noted Placer County saw 385 closures over that period; Shasta County saw 302; and Tehama County 91.
Butte County low
In a quirky twist of numbers, Butte County had a lower unemployment rate than the state as a whole,
6.8 percent versus 7.9 percent.
“You don’t usually see the rural counties having a lower unemployment rate, but the state (employment) is driven by Los Angeles. LA County was at 10.6 percent for November.”
Bringing Los Angeles County down was its widespread service industries, along with entertainment companies, shopping and tourism.
For Glenn County, the unemployment rate was 6 percent, with 750 residents without jobs in November. In Tehama County, the rate was 6.8 percent, with 1,660 unemployed.
Virtual job fair
A virtual job fair is planned by the Chico-based Alliance for Workforce Development from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Jan. 20.
The alliance is registering employers with job openings across six north state counties, and had 53 as of Friday.
There is no charge for employers to register, and can be done through the alliance’s website www.afwd. org or by calling or emailing Amy Velazquez at 530-9615131 or avelazquez@ncen.org