Business & Tech

Unemployment Rate Rises Slightly

The jobless rate ticked upward in March in most East Bay cities.

After an encouraging February, the unemployment rate in the East Bay edged upward in March.

The state Employment Department Department reported today the jobless rate in Contra Costa County bumped up to 11.2 percent last month, a slight increase over the 11 percent rate recorded in February.

Clayton's unemployment rate remais the lowest in the county, but ticked up slightly, going from 2.7 to 2.8 percent.

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In Danville, the jobless rate jumped to 6 percent, up from 5.8 percent in February. In Alamo, the rate rose to 4.2 percent, up from 4.1 percent in February.

In neighboring Diablo, the rate was also 6 percent while Blackhawk recorded a 5.5 percent jobless rate.

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The unemployment rate in San Ramon is 4.7 percent, a slight increase from February's 4.6 percent.

Walnut Creek had a March jobless rate of 7.6 percent, up from 7.5 percent the previous month.

State officials reported a slight drop in the total number of jobs in Alameda and Contra Costa County. In February, there were 941,200 jobs in the two counties. Last month, there were 939,600.

Leisure and hospitality services lost 900 jobs while trade, transportation and utilities had 700 fewer jobs. The retail trade industry shed another 1,100 jobs after losing 1,300 in February.

The manufacturing, professional and business sector gained 500 jobs while private education and health services added 400 jobs. Government jobs also rose by 400.

In February, the two counties had a net gain of 5,700 jobs.

Jorge Villalobos, a labor market consultant for the state EDD, said the labor market shrunk last month in Alameda and Contra Costa County, along with the number of jobs.

He said the leisure and hospitality sectors generally see an increase in jobs from February to March, but last month it actually lost 900 jobs.

In addition, the manufacturing, professional and business industry will usually gain 1,200 jobs from February to March, but it only 500 jobs last month.


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