Community Corner

Murrieta Unemployment Rate Dips Slightly in September

The largest decline in payrolls in Riverside and San Bernardino counties was recorded in the financial services sector, where 1,000 jobs were shed at banks, credit unions and insurance companies.

Murrieta's unemployment rate dropped slightly--to 9.3 percent--last month, as did Riverside County's, on the heels of gains throughout all but a few sectors of the regional economy, state officials reported Friday.

The number of those without jobs in Murrieta was down from 9.7 percent in August and 10 percent in July, according to the California Economic Development Department.

Of Temecula residents, 9.6 percent went without work in September, the preliminary figures showed. In Lake Elsinore, the jobless rate was 13.6 percent--just below the county mark.

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The county's non-seasonally-adjusted jobless rate of 14 percent in September, based on preliminary estimates, was six-tenths of a percentage point lower than in August, according to EDD figures.

The September figure for the county was one percentage point below a year ago, when unemployment stood at 15 percent. In Murrieta, the September figure a year ago was 10 percent.

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The combined unemployment rate for Riverside and San Bernardino counties in September was 13.4 percent, down from 14.1 percent in August.

Bi-county data indicated the largest payroll expansion was in the public sector, with around 1,700 new jobs added last month, largely in local education as teachers and other workers at schools returned from summer recess.

The construction, trade and transportation and professional and business services sectors altogether grew by 3,600 jobs, according to the EDD.

The largest decline in payrolls was recorded in the financial services sector, where 1,000 jobs were shed at banks, credit unions and insurance companies, figures showed.

Roughly 300 jobs were added in the farm sector, marking a slight turnaround from August, when more than 2,000 workers lost employment due to seasonal factors.

According to figures, Riverside County's civilian labor force numbered 908,000 people in September, with 136,400 unemployed.  

The labor force jumped slightly in Murrieta in September, to 27,100; it was 26,900 in August. Temecula's workforce went from 36,100 in August to 36,300 last month.

The state's non- seasonally-adjusted jobless rate was 11.4 percent in September, and the national rate was 9.1 percent.

Murrieta saw its unemployment rate drop to 8.8 percent in May, which was the lowest it had been since January 2009, when it was 7.7 percent.

The annual jobless rate for Murrieta in 2009 was 8.9 percent, up from 5.5 percent in 2008. The 2010 annual unemployment rates have not yet been released.

City News Service contributed to this report.


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