CHICO — Heading into the holidays, local employment figures remained slightly more cheery than grinchy according to labor updates released Friday morning by the California Employment Development Department.
The state’s numbers for November showed the unemployment rate for Butte County (officially labeled the Chico Metropolitan Statistical Area) was 5.1% — a tenth of a percent higher than October but seven-tenths lower than the previous year. The EDD Labor Market Information Division said this compares with a 4.9% state rate and 3.5% national rate in the same period.
Jennifer Macarthy, deputy city manager for Chico, noted that while “the countywide unemployment rate (5.1%) is tracking slightly higher than the state average (4.9%), there are some high points in the data. Butte County total individuals employed is up by 500 over a year ago, and the Chico unemployment rate is tracking lower than the state at 4.4%.”
Previously the county’s point person for economic development before assuming that role in the city, Macarthy referenced a separate EDD report breaking out November figures by city. Unemployment rates last month were 7.3% in Biggs, 5.6% in Gridley, 6.4% in Oroville and 8% in Paradise — the latter being the highest in any county community, including unincorporated areas.
“In terms of our industry employment figures, as is shown in the data, our area continues to be lead by strong healthcare and education (sectors),” Macarthy added. Private education and healthcare employ 19,900 in the county, a total that stayed unchanged; government employs 15,300, up 100 from the previous month but down 800 from the previous November.
Agriculture suffered the biggest hit, losing 600 jobs in November, leaving 3,200 working on farms. However, that total is the same as November 2023’s.