Fresno unemployment falls to lowest point in more than 30 years, despite rising inflation
More Fresno County residents were employed last month than any point in history, and the jobs recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic has driven the official unemployment rate to the lowest it’s been since 1990.
In figures released Friday by the state Employment Development Department, the county’s unemployment rate was reported at 5.2%. That’s not only lower than it was before the coronavirus pandemic wreaked havoc on local, state and national economy in early 2020, but it’s also the lowest it’s been in EDD data tracking back to January 1990.
Based on state surveys of employers and federal surveys of households, the state estimates that 431,000 residents held jobs in May 2022, out of a labor force of almost 455,000 people available for work.
“The employment number is the highest it’s been going all the way back to 1990,” said Steven Gutierrez, an EDD labor market specialist for the Fresno area. “On paper, everything looks like it’s going in the right direction, considering the other things going on” such as rising fuel costs and inflation that is reflected in the higher costs for consumer goods.
From among the labor force in Fresno County, 23,700 were counted as unemployed – a figure that represents the smallest number of out-of-work people who want and are looking for jobs than any month since the start of 1990.
There are gaps in exactly how much information can be derived from the employment and unemployment numbers.
There is no distinction, for example, between how many of those who have jobs are working full-time versus part-time. There’s no estimate from the state of how many of them may be working multiple jobs to make ends meet. And the unemployment rate is based only people who are available to work, and does not account for people who have given up a job search and effectively dropped out of the labor market.
“I’m not sure what ‘normal’ is going to look like for a while,” Gutierrez said. “Fresno County, and the rest of the Valley, have just about gained all of the jobs they may have lost in the pandemic. It seems like we’re going in a positive direction.”
There are seasonal swings in employment, Gutierrez added, because of ebbs and flows of jobs in the region’s agricultural industry, “and we don’t know the impact of the economic activity with rising prices eating into people’s pocketbooks and the spending power of consumers.”
April’s unemployment rate was reported at 6.1% in Fresno County, with 426,000 people working and 27,600 people out of work. A year ago, Fresno County’s unemployment rate was estimated at 9.3%, with employment counted at 404,200 and about 41,200 people counted as out of work.
EDD estimates in neighboring Valley counties include:
Kings County: 53,500 employed in May, up from 52,500 in April; 3,200 unemployed in May, down from 3,700 in April; unemployment rate of 6.6% in May, unchanged from April.
Madera County: 60,500 people employed in May, up from 58,900 in April; 3,100 unemployed in May, down from 3,600 in April; unemployment rate of 4.9% in May, down from 5.8% in April.
Merced County: 109,500 people employed in May, up from 107,100 in April; 7,300 unemployed in May, down from 8,500 in April; unemployment rate of 6.2% in May, down from 7.4% in April.
Tulare County: 194,700 employed in May, up from 190,000 in April; 13,500 unemployed in May, down from 15,500 in April; unemployment rate of 6.5% in May, down from 7.4% in April.
