SLO County’s unemployment rate was 4.1 percent in October
San Luis Obispo County’s jobless rate was 4.1 percent in October, below the year-ago estimate of 4.4 percent.
Because of seasonal work fluctuations, which can be significant, unemployment data are compared with those of the same month year over year as an indicator of trends in joblessness. The California Employment Development Department releases monthly data on employment and industry rates.
The county’s rate for October was lower than the unadjusted unemployment rates of 5.3 percent for California and 4.7 percent for the nation in the same month.
The county’s rate was tied with Orange County for seventh best among California’s 58 counties.
San Mateo County reported the lowest October jobless rate in the state, at 3.1 percent. Imperial County reported the highest rate, at 22 percent.
In October, about 140,600 people were counted as employed in San Luis Obispo County out of a civilian labor force of 146,700. The labor force includes everyone working and looking for work.
Excluding those who are self-employed, companies and agencies in the county reported 2,900 more jobs in October than in the same month last year — about a 2.5 percent increase.
Gains in the trade, transportation and utilities industries boosted job growth in the county — up 1,100 total jobs, or 5.2 percent, from the same month last year.
The leisure and hospitality industries also posted increases, with 500 jobs added, up 2.8 percent from October 2015. Government industries also added 500 jobs, up 2.1 percent from last October.
Professional and business services industries lost a net total of 400 jobs, down 3.2 percent from October 2015.
Of the largest cities in the county, Atascadero reported the lowest jobless rate in October, at 3.4 percent, with 500 of its 15,600 residents eligible for the workforce counted as unemployed, according to subcounty data from the Employment Development Department.
The city of San Luis Obispo’s jobless rate was 4.4 percent in October, with 1,200 of its 26,700 eligible residents counted as unemployed.
Paso Robles reported a rate of 4.6 percent, with 800 of its 16,900 eligible workers unemployed.
Arroyo Grande reported a rate of 3.6 percent, with 400 of its 9,900 eligible workers unemployed.
Data may not add up because of rounding; most rates reported are calculated on unrounded data. Because of smaller workforces at the city level, subcounty rates are subject to large month-to-month fluctuations.
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This story was originally published December 5, 2016 at 8:05 PM with the headline "SLO County’s unemployment rate was 4.1 percent in October."