New unemployment stats are out for Sacramento County. The unemployment rate dropped from 11.4% to 10.5% from March to April 2012. This is a big drop for one month, so we’ll have to see what coming months yield to see if this is just a blip or not. Whatever the case, it’s nice to see the overall downward trend in unemployment over the past year. It’ll only mean good news for the housing market to keep seeing this number decline. Source: EDD.
Here is a graph of unemployment in Sacramento County since 1990 to give a panoramic view of the job market. It’s amazing to consider the history of where we’ve been (and maybe a bit depressing too).
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What do you see above? Anything stand out to you?
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Not to be the pessimist here…but I would take unemployment numbers with a grain of salt. While the % may have in fact gone done, be sure you read between the numbers. The labor force also decreased by 6400 people….where did those people go? Mysteriously, the drop in unemployment benefits dropped by 6700 people. That’s more people that remain unemployed but because they have no job and can no longer collect benefits…they are not counted in the labor force anymore. The number of employed persons only increased by 300 people……the difference between the number of people that are not count in the work force and the number of people no longer receiving benefits. I would say this numbered is skewed and lower than what it really should be……just my thought. 🙂
I hear you, Ralph. I’m the ultimate optimist in life, but I do take these numbers with a grain of salt for sure (especially the huge drop). I tend to view positive economic news with skepticism and a sense of needing time to really view the positive news too (then we’ll see if it’s really spin or something actually lasting). Overall unemployment has been declining since the summer of 2010 in Sacramento County, but the past few months have seen a slight uptick (besides this month). The huge drop in April is technically a “decline” as I mentioned in the title of the post, but it’s definitely a qualified trend since we’ll see what the overall trend does in coming months. Unemployment numbers tend to bounce all around. Thanks for your insight. This is so important to pay attention to.