IE Business Daily Business news for the Inland Empire.
The Inland Empire’s unemployment rate rose slightly in July, according to data released Friday.
The two-county region recorded an unemployment rate of 6.9 percent last month, up from a revised 6.6 percent in June, the state Economic Development Department reported in its monthly analysis of California’s job market.
That was well below the 7.2 percent rate projected for the region one year ago.
Riverside County’s jobless rate last month was 7.1 percent, while San Bernardino County recorded a 6.7 percent unemployment rate.
California employers added 36,400 jobs last month, a strong number. Despite that, the state’s unemployment still rose slightly, to 5.5 percent, the second consecutive month that number has risen, the department reported.
The U.S. unemployment rate in July was 4.9 percent.
Despite the rise in unemployment, the Inland Empire economy remains strong and will likely stay that way for awhile, one local economist said.
“We gained some jobs in logistics but we lost some jobs in retail,” said Jay Prag, professor of economics and finance at the Drucker School of Management at Claremont Graduate University. “We also have more people looking for work. The [Inland Empire] economy is still growing. Those are solid numbers.”
