Labor force growth a highlight in latest statistics

As I mentioned last Friday, I wanted to write about the results from the BLS’ household survey, which gives us information on unemployment and labor force participation for October 2021. San Bernardino’s unemployment rate (not seasonally adjusted) dropped another 0.3 percentage points to 6.3%. Riverside County reported the same unemployment rate (6.3%). San Bernardino County doesn’t have the lowest unemployment rate in the Southland – that award goes to San Luis Obispo (4.3%) – but it doesn’t have the highest, either. And its unemployment rate is lower than nearby Los Angeles (7.8%) County.

The other news from the household survey is about labor force participation. This is one area where San Bernardino is at the top of the pack. Since its low in April 2020, San Bernardino County’s labor force has grown 5.7%, which is just slightly higher than Los Angeles (5.6%) and much faster than many other parts of Southern California.

The size of the labor force is a solid estimate of the extent to which people are attached to the labor market. It measures both the number of people employed as well as the number of people actively searching for work. Of course, it would be great if those 62,500 or so who are actively searching in the County could find work, but with continued demand for workers, that will be a real possibility as we enter 2022.