State unemployment down

California’s unemployment rate fell to 5.2 percent in December, as state employers added a net of 3,700 non-agricultural jobs, according to data released Friday.

Trade, utilities, transportation and hospitality posted the largest gains, while professional and business services – usually a reliable growth category – posted losses, the state Employment Development Department reported.

California has now added more than 2.4 million jobs since the economic recovery began in February 2010.

The Inland Empire’s unemployment rate during December was 5.2 percent, down from 5.9 percent one year earlier. Government posted the largest year-over-year gain, 12,300 jobs, with local government accounting for 85 percent of that growth.

Mining and logging lost 100 jobs during the last month of 2016, the only sector in the Inland Empire to post a loss during that time.

“Overall, this is a fairly sold report,” said Robert Kleinhenz, economist and executive director of research at the UC Riverside Center for Economic Forecasting and Development. “There’s no sign of a slowdown in these numbers. Things look good heading into 2017.”