LONDON: The unemployment rate in Napa County was 4.8 percent in January, down from 5.1 percent in December and below the year-ago estimate of 5.8 percent, according to data released Friday by the state Employment Development Department. This continues the downward trend of Napa’s unemployment rate, which peaked at 11.4 percent in January 2010 and has been slowly decreasing ever since.
“In addition to the falling unemployment rate, Napa is also seeing a healthy growth in its economy,” wrote Jim Cassio, labor market/workforce development specialist for the Napa-Lake Workforce Investment Board.
“For example, while Napa’s farm sector lost about 200 jobs between January 2015 and January 2016, that was offset by an increase of about 500 jobs in the manufacturing sector during the same period,” he said. Most of Napa’s manufacturing employment is in the wine industry, and much of that industry is also involved in growing grapes, Cassio noted.
Year-over-year, Napa County construction jobs rose 7.5 percent, wholesale trade jobs 6.3 percent and local government jobs 6.5 percent. Befitting Napa Valley’s tourism and hospitality industry, leisure and hospitality jobs rose 8.5 percent in the past year.
The number of people looking for jobs in Napa County dropped 16.7 percent this year over last year, the EDD reported. There were 4,200 local job seekers in January 2015 compared to 3,500 this January. At the same time, the total labor force in the county went from 72,700 people to 73,600. Napa County has the 12th lowest unemployment rate in the state, the EDD said.
Statewide, California’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate decreased to 5.7 percent in January, and nonfarm payroll jobs decreased by 1,500 during the month for a total gain of 2,086,100 jobs since the recovery began statistically in February 2010, the EDD said.
The U.S. adjusted unemployment rate also decreased in January to 4.9 percent. The unemployment rate is derived from a federal survey of 5,500 California households.
In related data, the EDD reported that there were 410,293 people receiving regular Unemployment Insurance benefits during the January survey week. This compares with 393,350 in December and 397,142 in January of last year. At the same time, new claims for unemployment insurance were 53,682 in January, compared with 53,248 in December and 40,989 in January of last year.
