A graph distributed by the Santa Barbara County Workforce Development Board shows the steady trend in declining unemployment in the county, which hit 2.4% in May.
People line up for a food distribution outside the Boys and Girls Club in Santa Maria in this photo from May 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic pushed Santa Barbara County's unemployment rate to nearly 11%.
Agricultural workers return from the fields to their H2A housing in Santa Maria in this photo from September 2021. The farm sector was the only one in the county that lost jobs, a total of 100, from May 2021 to May 2022, but it added 1,900 — the most of any industry in the county — from April to May this year.
A graph distributed by the Santa Barbara County Workforce Development Board shows the steady trend in declining unemployment in the county, which hit 2.4% in May.
People line up for a food distribution outside the Boys and Girls Club in Santa Maria in this photo from May 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic pushed Santa Barbara County's unemployment rate to nearly 11%.
Agricultural workers return from the fields to their H2A housing in Santa Maria in this photo from September 2021. The farm sector was the only one in the county that lost jobs, a total of 100, from May 2021 to May 2022, but it added 1,900 — the most of any industry in the county — from April to May this year.
Unemployment in Santa Barbara County is continuing its declining trend from the last two years, falling to 2.4% in May, which is lower than the state’s and nation’s average, according to figures released Friday by the California Labor Market Information Division.
The May rate was down from the 2.8% adjusted rate in April, less than half the rate in May 2021, when it was 5.6%, and far below the nearly 11% rate in June 2020, according to state statistics reported by the Santa Barbara County Workforce Development Board.
California’s average unemployment and the average national rate for May were both 3.4%.
Among the county’s eight cities, Santa Maria had the highest rate at 3.7%, followed closely by Lompoc at 3.5%, according to the Workforce Development Board.
Buellton had the lowest unemployment rate at 0.5%, with Guadalupe’s rate 1.6% and Solvang’s rate 1.8%.
A chart distributed by the Santa Barbara County Workforce Development Board compares unemployment rates in the county's cities during May.
Contributed
The highest rate among South Coast cities was 1.9% in Carpinteria, followed by Goleta and Santa Barbara at 1.5% each.
For comparison, Santa Maria’s labor force is an estimated 50,100 individuals, so 1,900 people are out of work there, while Buellton’s labor force is 3,200, and zero people are reportedly out of work in that city.
From May 2021 to May 2022, every major industry in the county added jobs except farming, which lost 100 jobs during that time but added the most of all industries — 1,900 — in the one-month period since April.
More radical changes in the farm industry are attributed to the seasonality of the work and the variability and uncertainty introduced by the weather, employers said.
All industries combined added 8,000 jobs countywide from May 2021 to May 2022 and 2,900 jobs since April.
The greatest gains were in the leisure and hospitality industry, which added 3,500 jobs over the one-year period, including 400 jobs from its April total, according to the statistics.
Government had the second-most one-year growth with 1,600 new jobs, an increase of 200 from April, followed by the professional and business services industry with 1,300 new jobs, although that sector experienced a loss of 100 jobs since April.
The trade, transportation and utilities sector had the largest one-month job loss, dropping 200 positions from April to May, but was up 300 jobs for the one-year period.
For business owners who want to retain their best employees, the Workforce Development Board will present a free virtual training on "Responding to the Great Resignation" from 10 to 11:30 a.m. Thursday, July 14.
To register for the webinar, visit www.employers.org, click on the green “Events” petal, then on the subsequent page refine the search to “Private Webinars” in the drop-down menu.
