The County's unemployment rate (not adjusted for seasonality) rose significantly from 13.9% in December to 14.8% in January. Unemployment rates tend to increase in January as seasonal holiday hiring ends. However, this magnitude (+0.9 percentage points) is unusually big by historical standards. The labor force increased by 5,600 in January, indicating that some people may have suspended their job search over the holidays. From the 3/'09 peak of 873,900, the County's reported labor force has fallen by 13,500, or 1.5%. The number of employed residents declined by 2,700 in January. For the 2009 calendar year, the average unemployment rate was 13.0%.
March 16, 2010
