Despite some sectors of the regional economy faring well, Riverside County’s unemployment rate rose above 6% last month, according to figures released Friday by the California Employment Development Department.
The countywide jobless rate in August, based on preliminary EDD estimates, was 6.2%, compared to 5.9% in July.
According to figures, the August rate was one-tenth of a percentage point lower than the year-ago level, when countywide unemployment stood at 6.3%.
The combined unemployment rate for Riverside and San Bernardino counties — the Inland Empire — was 5.9%, up from 5.7% in July, the EDD stated.
Bi-county data indicated payrolls dropped by the widest margin in the agricultural sector, where about 1,700 positions were recorded as lost in August.
Additional losses occurred in miscellaneous unclassified industries and the information technology sector, which altogether shrank by 600 jobs, according to the EDD.
Regionally, the construction, financial services, health services, hospitality, public and transportation sectors expanded by 6,400 positions, data showed.
The manufacturing, mining and professional and business services sectors were unchanged.
The statewide non-seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in August was 5.4%.