Lake Elsinore, Lakeland Village Unemployment Rates Fall; Wildomar Slides Below 10 Percent

Despite the numbers dropped in February, data out today from the California Employment Development Department showed.

Lake Elsinore's non-seasonally-adjusted jobless rate in February, based on preliminary estimates, was 10.6 percent, according to the state agency. In Wildomar, the unemployment rate was 9.6 percent last month, compared to 10.1 percent in January. Lakeland Village's February jobless rate was 17.3 percent, compared to 18.3 percent the prior month.

The February numbers are down from prior years. For the same month a year ago, the unemployment rates were 12.4 percent, 11.2 percent, and 20.1 percent for Lake Elsinore, Wildomar, and Lakeland Village, respectively. In February 2011, the jobless rates were 13.6 percent in Lake Elsinore, 12.3 percent in Wildomar, and 21.8 percent in Lakeland Village.

Riverside County's unemployment rate dropped below 11 percent last month as most sectors of the regional economy added jobs, the EDD reported today.

The county's non-seasonally-adjusted jobless rate in February, based on preliminary estimates, was 10.9 percent, compared to 11.5 percent in January, according to the California EDD.

The rate was almost two percentage points below the level of February 2012, when unemployment stood at 12.7 percent.

The county’s civilian labor force last month numbered 953,800 people, with 103,800 out of work, according to figures.

Lake Elsinore's labor force numbered 18,000 in February, with 1,900 people out of work. Wildomar's labor force was at 8,500, with 800 people out of work, and Lakeland Village was at 3,500, with 600 people out of work.

The city of Cabazon had the highest unemployment rate countywide, at 27.2 percent, followed by Mecca at 21.8 percent and Homeland at 21.4 percent, according to the EDD.

The combined unemployment rate for Riverside and San Bernardino counties in February was 10.8 percent, down from 11.5 percent the prior month.

Bi-county data indicated payrolls expanded in all but a few sectors. The largest increase was in educational and health services, where around 2,200 positions were added. Roughly 5,000 jobs were added in other sectors

Payrolls shrank in farming, manufacturing, mining, as well as leisure and hospitality, which altogether shed a total 3,000 jobs last month. The biggest drop was in trade, transportation and utilities, where 3,100 losses were recorded. Retail trade accounted for most of the decrease, reflecting a decline in demand for seasonal workers after the holidays.

The state's non-seasonally-adjusted jobless rate in February was 9.7 percent, according to the EDD. --City News Service and Toni McAllister contributed to this report.