Workers and employers can’t seem to find each other

Unemployment rises slightly during June for Inyo, Mono counties

Workers and employers seem to be having a hard time finding each other in Inyo and Mono counties.

While local help wanted ads are bulging with job openings and business owners complain they cannot hire enough people, the unemployment rate in both counties nudged up a bit in June and has remained essentially flat for the past three months. A total of about 1,070 people remain unemployed in both counties.

According to preliminary statistics, Inyo County’s unemployment rate in June 2021 hit 6%, up from 5.5% in May, and mirroring the 6% rate in April. The county had about 500 people out of work in June, up from 450 in May, according to the California Employment Development Department.

Mono County saw similar trends, with a June unemployment rate at 7.4%, compared to 7.2% in May and 7.4% in April. In June, the state calculated about 570 Mono County folks were out of work.

But the county did see about an additional 380 jobs added to the workforce in June.

The California unemployment rate remained unchanged from May to June at 7.7%.

In both counties, business owners and chamber of commerce executives have said it has become increasingly hard to fill open positions after the state opened up and lifted coronavirus restrictions. That move came in time for the busy summer season, but businesses are still looking to bring staffing levels back to pre-pandemic levels.

One oft-cited factor has been the extra $300 a week in federal unemployment benefits, which some see as sapping the will to work out of some people. However, about half the states in the U.S. have dropped the extra payments and have not seen a dramatic increase in hiring or a drop in unemployment, according to numerous media reports. Other reasons for a slow return to work have been a lack

of childcare, low wages, concern about the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, and workers choosing to change professions or jobs.

Mono County also is facing a severe affordable housing crisis. A recent survey discussed by the Mono County Board of

Supervisors showed that about 25% of the Mono County workforce were living in cars or camping or were otherwise “unhoused.”

Both counties are also seeing an increase in COVID-19 infections. That prompted Mono County to follow the recommendation from the state of California that people should once again wear masks when inside public buildings. Inyo County has not made a similar recommendation.

In June, Inyo County saw most job categories hold steady, with only slight changes from the previous months. Total non-farm employment did go up slightly to 7,200, an increase of 80. Half of those job gains came in the service sector, with slight increases in retail and wholesale sectors. The biggest jump in the sector came in leisure and hospitality, which added 20 jobs to a total of 1,310. Employment in federal, state, county and local government remained steady at about 3,140. Utilities and transportation workers numbered 1,140.

Mono County saw its overall workforce jump to 6,580, from 6,200 in May. That increase in the number of people at work did not immediately translate into a lower unemployment rate, however. The unemployment calculations are based on surveys and the number of unemployment claims being filed, thus can vary from the total number of new jobs added in a jurisdiction.

The Mono County service sector saw a jump in the number of workers in June to 5,960, from 5,630 in May. The bulk of those gains came in leisure and hospitality, which gained 300 workers to total 2,610.

Retail also saw a slight increase. The total number of government workers remained stable at 1,700.

The California unemployment rate of 7.7% in June was higher than the national unemployment rate of 6.1%. The state added 73,500 non-farm jobs in June, bringing the total number of people at work to 17.4 million. In addition, about 13,000 agriculture jobs were added in June, bringing employment in the state’s agriculture sector to 422,900, which is higher than in June of 2020. About 1.5 million Californians are still unemployed. The state has recovered about half of the 2.7 jobs lost during the coronavirus pandemic.