IE posts major jobs gain

The Inland Empire added 52,600 jobs between January 2014 and January of this year, the state of California has announced.

That was nearly a 4.2 percent increase in all jobs not related to agriculture, according to data released Tuesday by the state Employment Development Department.

“It’s a solid number,” said Michael Goss, a consultant with the development department who specializes in the Inland Empire. “Anytime you add jobs over the course of a year it’s good, but adding 52,600 jobs is pretty impressive.”

Riverside County posted a 7.4 percent unemployment rate during the first month of the year, San Bernardino County 7.2 percent. Combined, those numbers matched the state’s unemployment rate during that time, 7.3 percent.

The U.S. jobless rate was 6.1 percent.

Trade, transportation and utilities added 14,600 jobs during the year, the most of any sector. Professional and business services added 13,400 jobs, a year-over-year increase of 10.2 percent in that category, according to the data.

Leisure and hospitality (7,300 jobs), education and health services (5,500 jobs) and construction (3,100 jobs) all posted modest gains.

Information was the only non-agricultural sector that recorded a loss during the year, dropping 300 jobs during that period. Agriculture lost 500 jobs, the report stated.