Jobless rate at 5.9% in February
The Humboldt County unemployment rate stayed steady in February at 5.9% — the same rate as January.
Randy Weaver, a local market analyst, noted that the labor force jumped in size.
“There was a pretty good jump of labor force,” he said. “It was up by 1,000 people from January to February. That wasn't necessarily unusual for this time of year to see some growth in the labor force. But I looked back into historical data and the last time the labor force grew 1,000 people between January and February was in 2018.”
So, while the labor force grew, the unemployment rate is unchanged.
“61,100 people was the largest labor force in any month in Humboldt County since February 2020, when there were 62,400 people in the labor force, so it's a good sign,” Weaver said.
The areas where jobs were gained were in various industries.
“There (were) the largest increases in federal government, which went up 200 jobs, and then construction, transportation, warehousing utilities, private education and health services, leisure and hospitality and all other services all added 100 jobs,” Weaver said.
Statewide, the picture is less rosy. California's unemployment rate is now the highest in the country, reaching 5.3% in February following new data that revealed job growth in the nation's most populous state was much lower last year than previously thought.
California lost a staggering 2.7 million jobs at the start of the coronavirus pandemic, losses brought on by Gov. Gavin Newsom's stay-at-home order, which forced many businesses to close.
The state added more than 3 million jobs since then, a remarkable streak that averaged just over 66,000 new jobs per month, according to the state Employment Development Department.
But a recent analysis of unemployment data by the federal government revealed that job growth slowed significantly last year. The federal government releases job numbers each month that state officials use to measure the health of the economy. Each year, the federal government analyzes these numbers to see if they match payroll records. Normally, the revisions are small and don't impact the overall view of the economy.
The new state employment report also revealed the job gains reported for January were far weaker than first thought. Rather than gaining 13,600 jobs that month as initially estimated, the Bay Area added only 1,900 positions.
Similarly, California originally was thought to have added a robust 58,100 jobs in January. It turns out the state gained 25,600 positions — less than half the initial estimate.
According to seasonally adjusted estimates Beacon Economics derived from the official state reports, tech companies chopped a net total of 3,200 jobs in February, while construction companies slashed 4,500 jobs. Hotels and restaurants gained 2,200 jobs, and health care employers added 1,800.
The tech industry losses were particularly severe in the South Bay, which lost 1,700 such jobs in February, according to the Beacon estimates.
Companies such as Facebook app owner Meta Platforms, Google, Cisco Systems, Salesforce and Intel have slashed jobs in a quest to operate more efficiently after hiring sprees during the pandemic.
“The tech sector is on an efficiency push right now, and it's bringing big dividends in terms of stock market performance and market share,” said Russell Hancock, president of Joint Venture Silicon Valley, a San Jose-based think tank. “Job growth is likely to follow.”