Banning, Beaumont Unemployment Rates Rise In June

PASS AREA, CA — Riverside County's jobless rate rose last month, amid a mix of losses and gains in the regional economy, according to figures released Friday by the California Employment Development Department.

The unemployment rate in June, based on preliminary estimates, was 7.9 percent, compared to 7.1 percent in May, the EDD said.

The June rate was nearly 6 percentage points lower than the year-ago level, when countywide unemployment stood at 13.7 percent during the public health lockdowns.

Roughly 87,500 residents were out of work last month, and 1,026,000 were employed, according to the EDD.

In Banning, the June jobless rate was 10.2 percent, compared to 9.1 percent in May. Beaumont stood at 6.8 percent compared to 6.1 percent the previous month, according to EDD data.

Coachella had the highest unemployment rate countywide in June, at 13 percent; followed by Mecca, 12.3 percent; Winchester, 11.6 percent; East Hemet, 11.3 percent; and Highgrove, 11.1 percent.

The combined unemployment rate for Riverside and San Bernardino counties in June was also 7.9 percent, down from 7.2 percent in May, according to the EDD.

Bi-county data indicated that, as in March, April and May, payrolls expanded by the widest margin in the hospitality sector, which added 3,700 positions last month, with the health services sector posting the next-highest amount — 2,500.

Additional gains were recorded in the agricultural, information technology, professional services and warehousing sectors, which altogether added 5,300 jobs. Another 700 jobs were created in miscellaneous unclassified industries, according to figures.

Payrolls dropped in the construction, financial services, manufacturing and public sectors, which declined by a total 3,700 jobs, data showed.

The statewide non-seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in June was 8 percent.

—City News Service, Toni McAllister contributed to this report.