-June 19,2022-
The unemployment rate in San Luis Obispo County was 2.1 percent in May 2022 says the EDD, the lowest rate ever recorded for the county. The next lowest rate recorded was 2.4% in April of this year and in a few months of 2018 and 2019, prior to the pandemic. Figures have been collected since 1990, says Andri Moskalyk EDD spokesperson. The very low jobless rate here reflects the economic recovery since Covid 19 hit the US in 2020 boosting unemployment in SLO County to 12.7% in May 2020.
Moskalyk notes that using figures from a separate jobs report covering households, the county has seen an increase in the labor force year -over-year of 3300. But the total is still down 2800 from May 2019- before the pandemic hit. The latest labor force number is 137,700 in May 2022 compared to 140,500 available for work that were in the labor force in May 2019.
”We’re not sure what happened to those people and whether some of them listed back then will still return to the SLO market to look for a job.”
Clearly some have moved away facing poor job prospects and high cost of living impacts during that time. The jobs are back but the high costs are still there.
There is the prospect that the downturn in the economy led by sky high oil prices in recent weeks could drive the jobless rate back up going forward. If we are seeing the lowest unemployment rate we are looking at the highest gas prices here at the same time.Just this Friday oil futures saw a big drop based on the Fed raising the interest rates the day before.
Still the lowest jobless rate ever, better than half what it was a year ago at 5.2% is a significant improvement although still with a ways to go. This is reflected in California numbers for May showing California has now regained 93 percent (2,565,100) of the 2,758,900 nonfarm jobs lost during March and April of 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
EDD analysis shows:
• Of the 390,000 U.S. nonfarm jobs gained in May, California accounted for 11 percent of them.
• At 869,300 jobs, California had the largest absolute year-over seasonally-adjusted job increase in the nation in May 2022.
• California has enjoyed month-over gains in nonfarm jobs in 15 of the past 16 months totaling a 1,481,800 job gain over that time period.
• Eight of California’s 11 industry sectors gained jobs in May with Information (+8,800) posting the largest increase. The sector’s growth was due in part to increases in the Motion Picture and Sound Recording industries.
• Leisure & Hospitality (+8,800), which suffered some of the largest losses in the pandemic, showed strong growth yet again and has now gained 816,900 jobs since April 2020 after losing nearly one million jobs due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Trade, Transportation, and Utilities suffered the largest month-over job loss (-3,700) due to reductions in Retail Trade (specifically General Merchandise Stores).
The EDD industry jobs report shows 2800 more jobs in SLO County than a year earlier with 1000 more of those in the Leisure and Hospitality sector.
“The low unemployment rate in the state shows that worker supply remains the primary obstacle to job growth in California,”said Taner Osman, Research Manager at Beacon Economics and the UCR Center for Economic Forecasting. “Moreover, a clear dichotomy has emerged, whereby labor markets in the state’s central communities have outperformed the coastal communities; the coast is routed in high cost and housing supply constraints and continues to experience labor market shortages.”
| John Lindt |