IE Business Daily Business news for the Inland Empire.
California’s unemployment rate dropped below five percent in March, the first time in more than 10 years it has reached that benchmark, according to data released Friday.
The state added 19,300 non-agricultural jobs during the third month of the year, causing the unemployment rate to fall to 4.9 percent, the state Employment Development Department reported in its monthly jobs analysis.
The state’s unemployment rate has not been below five percent since December 2006. California has added more than 2.5 million jobs since the recovery began in February 2010, according to the report.
Riverside and San Bernardino counties recorded unemployment rates of 5.5 percent and 5.2 percent, respectively, last month.
Statewide, the construction industry added the most jobs,18,900, followed by government, which added 6,300 jobs.
Manufacturing, education and health services, leisure and hospitality also added to the state’s workforce, the report stated.
