Yuba-Sutter third worst in nation for jobs in federal survey
May 2011 April 2011 May 2010
- California 11.4 11.7 11.9
- Yuba City 19 20.1 19
- Bakersfield-Delano 15 16 15.5
- Chico 12.9 13.2 13.4
- El Centro 27.7 29.1 28.9
- Fresno 16 16.9 16
- Hanford-Corcoran 15.2 16.5 15.2
- Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana 11.1 11 11.1
- Madera-Chowchilla 14.5 16.2 14.5
- Merced 17.8 19.3 17.8
- Modesto 16.7 17.4 16.7
- Napa 8.7 9.6 8.7
- Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura 9.5 9.7 9.5
- Redding 14.7 15.5 14.7
- Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario 13.2 13.4 13.2
- Sacramento-Arden-Arcade 11.7 12 11.7
- Salinas 10.9 12.6 10.9
- San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos 9.6 9.8 9.6
- San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont 9.3 9.5 9.3
- San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara 9.9 10.1 9.9
- San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles 9 9.3 9
- Santa Barbara-Santa Maria-Goleta 8.1 8.5 8.1
- Santa Cruz-Watsonville 11.4 13.1 11.4
- Santa Rosa-Petaluma 9.4 9.9 9.4
- Stockton 16.2 17.2 16.2
- Vallejo-Fairfield 11.3 11.5 11.3
- Visalia-Porterville 15.1 16.3 15.1
Source: U.S. Department of Labor
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released its monthly metropolitan area employment statistics on Wednesday, and the Yuba City metro area again is the third-worst region in the nation for jobs.
The Yuba City metro area, which includes Yuba and Sutter counties, had a May unemployment rate of 19.0 percent, according to the federal survey, ranking it 370th out of 372 for the fourth consecutive month.
Of the 10 worst metro areas for jobs, nine were in California. The highest unemployment rate was in Yuma, Ariz., at 27.9 percent, followed by another border city with Mexico, El Centro at 27.7.
Competition from farmers in neighboring Mexico has left some cotton, wheat and lettuce growers out of work. Agriculture drives about 40 percent of Yuma’s economy.
Other California metro areas higher than 15 percent were Merced (17.8), Modesto (16.7), Stockton (16.2), Fresno (16.0), Hanford-Corcoran (15.2), Visalia-Porterville (15.1) and Bakersfield-Delano (15.0).
Unemployment rates rose last month in more than half of the nation's largest metro areas, driven higher by weak private-sector hiring and natural disasters.
The unemployment rate increased in 210 metro areas in May. It fell in 131 cities and remained unchanged in 37. That's a sharp reversal from April, when unemployment rates dropped in more than 90 percent of metro areas.
Nationwide, the unemployment rate ticked up in May to 9.1 percent and employers added just 54,000 net jobs. Employers added an average of 220,000 jobs per month in the previous three months.
"You're seeing soft patches nationwide," said Mike Lynch, a regional economist at IHS Global Insight. "A lot of these things are temporary or short-term interruptions."
Tornadoes and flooding shut some companies down in the South in late April and May. And a parts shortage stemming from the March 11 earthquake in Japan affected U.S. auto production. The metro employment data isn't seasonally adjusted and as a result can be volatile from month to month.
One of the biggest increases was in Tuscaloosa, Ala., which was struck a deadly tornado that killed 41 people in late April. The unemployment rate there rose from 8.1 percent in April to 9.3 percent in May.
Several automakers were forced to shut down some or all of their North American factories because of the parts shortage. Six of the 10 steepest monthly increases in unemployment in May occurred in South Carolina, where many auto factories are located. In Sumter, S.C., the unemployment rate rose from 10.3 percent in April to 11.4 percent last month. Several cities in Michigan, including Detroit, Ann Arbor and Battle Creek, also endured big increases.
The lowest unemployment rates in the nation were in North Dakota: Bismark (2.9) and Fargo (3.5).
