COUNTY JOBLESS RATE UP TO 5.2%

Sonoma County's jobless rate hit 5.2 percent in March -- its highest for that month since 2004 -- as the nation's economy continued to slide, state labor analysts said Friday.

County unemployment reflected a slowdown across California, said Tiffany Furrell, labor market analyst for the Employment Development Department.

"That's what happened throughout the state," she said. "It's just going through an economic downturn."

A year ago, Sonoma County unemployment was a full point lower at 4.2 percent.

The numbers paint a contrasting picture of the local economy: Companies are continuing to hire workers, but more people are finding themselves unemployed. The county gained 2,500 jobs over the past year, but the number of unemployed grew faster, by 2,800.

The county lost 800 government jobs in the past year, as local, state and federal agencies cut programs. There are also 800 fewer jobs in construction, finance and tourism, according to the state.

Sonoma County saw year-over-year job gains in retail, business and professional services, manufacturing and health care.

Unemployment normally jumps in January and slowly recedes every spring in Sonoma County. But this year, the jobless rate has remained stubbornly high -- 5.2 percent in January and a revised 5 percent in February.

"We've seen an upturn in the number of people coming into the Job Link center," said Karen Fies, Sonoma County employment and training director.

The housing sector has been particularly hard hit, with many real estate and mortgage loan professionals out of work, she said. The Job Link program provides retraining and other employment resources.

"We're able to help a lot of people find jobs, though not always in the industry they came from," Fies said.

The number of unemployed in Sonoma County grew by 700 -- about 5.3 percent -- from February to March, according to the state's report. Since March 2007, the number of jobless was up more than 25 percent.

The state's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rose half a percentage point to 6.2 percent in March from the previous month.

The overall ranks of the jobless in California increased by 84,000 people since February, the biggest monthly jump since 1976. It brought the number of unemployed to 1.13 million.

California posted the nation's third-highest jobless rate behind Michigan at 7.2 percent and Alaska at 6.7 percent. By comparison, the national unemployment rate was 5.1 percent in March, up from 4.8 percent a month earlier.

"It's definitely looking like a recession, but it's mild compared to the early '90s and the dot-com bust," said Stephen Levy, senior economist for the Center for Continuing Study of the California Economy.

The state's unemployment rate was 5.7 percent in February and 5 percent in March 2007.

The state said total employment fell by 23,000 jobs to 17.19 million in March, compared with February.

There were 229,000 more unemployed people in the state last month than in March 2007.

Among the jobless, more than a third -- or 483,600 -- had been laid off. About 108,300 left their jobs voluntarily, and the others had just entered or re-entered the job market.

Among the sectors that gained jobs, information showed the biggest increase of 6,700 jobs. Construction posted the largest decline over the month, down by 6,300 jobs.

In Mendocino County, the jobless rate was 7.4 percent in March, up from 7 percent in February.

Lake County posted a March rate of 10.1 percent, up from 9.6 percent.

This article includes information from the Associated Press. You can reach Staff Writer Steve Hart at 521-5205 or steve.hart@pressdemocrat.com.