Marin County’s unemployment rate in July was the fourth highest on record as the county continued to sustain major damage from the coronavirus pandemic. However, the rate improved slightly from June.
Nearly 12,000 potential workers did not have jobs in Marin last month, for an unemployment rate of 8.8%, according to data released Friday by the state Employment Development Department. The rate was the highest recorded for the month of July.
The data continue the trend of record unemployment numbers for the county. The rate hit a record high of 11.3% in April, with May’s 10.5% rate being second-highest and the 10.1% rate in June being third-highest. Records began in 1990.
“Obviously compared to last year a lot of the industries are still down,” said Jorge Villalobos, research specialist with the Employment Development Department. “From June to July it’s pretty typical for Marin County to not have a lot of movement between these two months.”
Marin’s rate last month was the second-lowest among California counties, behind Lassen and Trinity, which were tied at 8.6%.
Statewide, the employment department reported an unemployment rate of 13.7% for July. The national rate was 10.5%.
Local government jobs in Marin, which include public education jobs, dropped by 500 compared to June, according to Villalobos. The education and health services sector, which includes private schools and health and social services employment, lost 300 jobs. Jobs in the trades, transportation and utilities sector increased by 500 from June, which is higher than the average 100-job bump between the two months in the past decade.
Marin employers have reported 2,385 layoffs under the state’s WARN Act requirement since the onset of coronavirus-related business restrictions in March, according to the California Center for Jobs and the Economy. The law — formally the California Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act — requires businesses with 75 or more employees to provide the state with 60 days advance notice of pending plant closures or mass layoffs.
Marin employers indicated that 539 of the layoffs, more than 22%, would be permanent.
Nevertheless, the center said unemployment insurance and pandemic unemployment assistance filings declined in California and the rest of the nation during the last week of July and first week of August.
Pandemic unemployment assistance is one of provisions of the federal CARES Act — or the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act — that provides assistance to unemployed Californians who are not usually eligible for regular unemployment insurance benefits. Those eligible for the pandemic aid include business owners, self-employed workers, independent contractors and those with a limited work history.
For the week that ended on Aug. 8, initial claims for the two programs were down a combined 11% from the prior week in the state, the California Center for Jobs and the Economy said. Nationally, total initial claims for the programs declined 19.7%. This reversed an upward trend that had prevailed since the end of May.
The center estimated that about 6 million California workers were receiving or applying for unemployment insurance during the week of Aug. 8, down 9% from the week before.
Nevertheless, “the pressure on small businesses still remains,” said Joanne Webster, CEO of the San Rafael Chamber of Commerce.
Webster said some relief was provided when the county’s public health officer allowed outdoor dining, outdoor and indoor retail and some personal services to resume outdoors.
“But everybody is concerned about what happens during the cold winter months,” Webster said.
Since June 9, four Marin businesses and nonprofits have filed WARN notices announcing layoffs. On June 7, Bay Club Ross Valley in Kentfield laid off 51 employees and StoneTree Golf Club in Novato laid off 32. In both cases the layoffs were described as permanent.
On June 30, Terrapin Crossroads in San Rafael laid off 104 employees. Those layoffs were described as temporary.
On Aug. 15, the nonprofit NatureBridge at Golden Gate laid off 39 employees. Those layoffs were described as permanent.
Webster said she expects to see more layoffs at Marin nonprofits as they struggle to pay the rent on their offices and cover other expenses while receiving reduced financial support from donors.
“As corporations start tightening their belts, they can’t be giving donations out,” Webster said.
In its analysis, the California Center for Jobs and the Economy stated that despite the decrease in unemployment and pandemic unemployment assistance filings, the combined level of the programs remains high in California. While total initial claims for these programs are down 67% for the rest of the nation, claims in California remain 8% higher than on May 9.
“This data again indicates how much more severe the economic downturn has been in California,” the center said.
The center said claims for extensions to state unemployment insurance benefits continue to rise, with California accounting for 22% of the total claims nationally. President Trump has signed an executive order aimed at partially extending the $600 per week boost to federal unemployment benefits that expired in July.
Many of Marin’s layoffs came early in the pandemic. In March, the county shed 1,400 jobs. Businesses reporting large layoffs through WARN notices at that time included Cavallo Point, Cinemark USA, the Cheesecake Factory, Embassy Suites and Peacock Gap Golf Club.
By mid-May, additional sizable layoffs had been reported. Glassdoor, the Mill Valley-based internet company that specializes in helping people find the right job, laid off 30% of its workforce, including 81 Marin employees. Osher Marin Jewish Community Center laid off 226 employees and the YMCA cut 204 jobs.
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August 22, 2020 at 04:58AM
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Marin jobless rate declines slightly but remains severe - Marin Independent Journal
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