Local Unemployment Rate Falls Slightly

Palm Desert's jobless rate fell slightly in August to 8.8 percent after reaching its highest point this year--9.1 percent--in July, and remained lower than some, but not all neighboring cities.

Rancho Mirage had an unemployment rate of 13.1 percent last month; in Indio, 15.8 percent were unemployed. In Thousand Palms, 10.3 percent were without jobs, according to state's Employment Development Department.

Other cities fared better. Indian Wells had the lowest unemployment rate at 5.2 percent last month; in La Quinta, 7.8 percent were unemployed. Bermuda Dunes had a 6.9 percent unemployment rate in August.

All the cities saw a decline from July, which was in line with a drop in Riverside County's unemployment rate. The county rate fell slightly last month, with minor gains in several industries offset by declines in the public, farm and hospitality sectors, state officials mid-month.

The county's non-seasonally-adjusted jobless rate in August, based on preliminary estimates, was 14.7 percent, compared to 15 percent in July, according to the California Economic Development Department.

The August county figure was seven-tenths of a percentage point lower than a year ago. In Palm Desert, it was nearly an entire percentage point lower than August 2010, when it peaked at 9.3 percent.

According to the EDD, 131,800 people were unemployed countywide last month, compared to 136,000 in July.

The combined unemployment rate for Riverside and San Bernardino counties in August was 14.1 percent, down from 14.7 percent in July.

Bi-county data indicated the largest payroll expansion was in professional and business services, including technical and administrative support positions, with around 3,500 new jobs added in August.

A total of 2,300 positions were filled in trade, transportation and utilities, education and health services, as well as banking and insurance services, according to the EDD.

The public sector shed 3,900 positions, though most of those losses were temporary and attributable to summer recess at schools.

The farm sector sank by 2,500 jobs because of seasonal factors, which may also explain a total loss of 2,800 positions in the leisure and hospitality industry, along with construction and manufacturing.

According to the EDD, there was a net loss of 3,900 jobs last month in the Inland Empire. However, the unemployment rate fell because the labor pool contracted, with roughly 13,000 fewer people counted as job-seekers.   

The state's non-seasonally-adjusted jobless rate was 11.9 percent, and the national rate was 9.1 percent.

City News Service contributed to this report.