Unemployment Drops In Lake Elsinore, Wildomar

Unemployment rates in Lake Elsinore, Wildomar and Lakeland Village edged downward last month, following a countywide trend that is being attributed to holiday retail hiring.

The November non-seasonally-adjusted jobless rates in Lake Elsinore, Wildomar and Lakeland Village were 12.4 percent, 11.3 percent and 20.1 percent, respectively, according the California Economic Development Department.

Locally, unemployment rates dropped nearly a full percentage point compared to the previous month’s figures, according to the EDD data. The October non-seasonally-adjusted jobless rates in Lake Elsinore, Wildomar and Lakeland Village were 13.3 percent, 12.1 percent and 21.4 percent, respectively.

Overall, payroll expansion in most sectors of the local economy pushed Riverside County's unemployment rate below 13 percent last month, state officials reported.

The county's non-seasonally-adjusted jobless rate in November, based on preliminary estimates, was 12.8 percent, compared to 13.7 percent in October, according to the California Economic Development Department.

Countywide, the November figure was two percentage points below the year-ago level, when unemployment stood at 14.8 percent.

Riverside County's civilian labor force numbered 912,000 people, with 117,100 unemployed, according to the EDD.

The city of Cabazon had the highest unemployment rate countywide, at 31 percent, followed by Mecca at 25 percent and Homeland at 24.6 percent.

The combined unemployment rate for Riverside and San Bernardino counties in November was 12.5 percent, down from 13.3 percent the prior month.

Bi-county data indicated the largest payroll expansion was in trade, transportation and utilities, which grew by 7,800 jobs, with retailers adding a large number of positions in preparation for the holiday shopping blitz.

The leisure and hospitality industry also geared up for seasonal activity, creating 4,300 jobs last month.

The manufacturing sector showed the third-highest gain, putting 1,000 more people to work, while smaller gains were recorded in the government, farm, financial and business services sectors.

The largest decline in payrolls was in construction, where 1,700 positions were redlined.

For November, the state's non-seasonally-adjusted jobless rate was 10.9 percent, and the national rate was 8.6 percent. --City News Service and Toni McAllister contributed to this report.