Marin’s unemployment rate dipped slightly in May from its record-setting pandemic peak, but even as health officials eased the coronavirus shutdown, a staggering one in 10 workers in the county were unemployed.
The unemployment rate was 10.3%, down from 11.2% in April and up from 2% in May 2019, according to data from the state Employment Development Department. The number of jobless workers dropped from 14,400 in April to 13,100 in May — up from 2,700 a year ago.
“It’s heading in the right direction, but there’s still a ways to go to get back to normal levels,” said Jorge Villalobos, a state research data specialist.
The April unemployment rate, which was the highest figure since records began in 1990, shattered Marin’s previous record of 8.4% in January 2010, at the height of the Great Recession.
Marin added 2,100 jobs in May, but the county is down 17,900 jobs from a year ago. Federal government jobs saw the highest growth, with a 16.7% increase since April, followed by construction jobs, which saw a 10.9% increase. The only sectors that saw a decrease in jobs during the month were state and local government, which declined by a combined 2.5%. Local government education jobs took the hardest hit, with a 5.7% reduction.
The unemployment figures are based on data from mid-May, roughly two weeks after Marin County health officials allowed construction and outdoor businesses to resume. But the data were collected prior to the reopening of manufacturing businesses, curbside retail, outdoor dining at restaurants and other sectors that resumed later in the month.
With more businesses coming back to life, it’s possible that unemployment will continue to recede, said Robert Eyler, chief economist for the Marin Economic Forum.
But Eyler cautioned that some businesses are relying on loans from the federal government to stay afloat. When those dry up, he said, “There could be a second wave of jobs losses that haven’t shown their face yet, which might nullify some of the gains of reopening.”
“The next couple months are really going to tell the tale,” Eyler said.
Marin’s unemployment rate for May was the second-lowest of any county in California, behind Lassen County’s 10%. Statewide, the unemployment rate was 15.9%, down from a record 16.2% in April.
Unemployment data
Unemployment rates for Marin County in May 2020:
Marin County: 10.3%
Statewide: 15.9%
Corte Madera: 13%
Fairfax: 9.4%
Inverness: 4.4%
Larkspur: 8.1%
Mill Valley: 6.9%
Novato: 11.1%
Point Reyes Station: 0%
San Anselmo: 14%
San Rafael: 10.5%
Sausalito: 10.4%
Tamalpais Homestead Valley: 13%
Tomales: 0%
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June 20, 2020 at 06:21AM
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Marin unemployment rate recedes from pandemic peak - Marin Independent Journal
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