Civilian Unemployment Rate

Definition

This metric measures the number of people who are jobless but actively seeking employment plus recent job separations divided by the total available labor force. Together, the job finding rate and the job separations rate determine the rate of unemployment.

Significance

This indicator displays the rate at which jobless in Ventura County are able to find job opportunities.  The metric had been moving in a moving in a positive direction, showing fewer jobless still actively seeking employment. Since the inception of required business closures in March 2020, the County has experienced an uptake in the unemployment rate, though it remains at a relatively stable standing amongst other counties with a current ranking of 21 out of 58 counties for the lowest rate, up from ranking of 20 in Q4 2019.

Trends

13.5%
(May 2020)
Ventura County ranked 20 out of 58 counties by the end of Q4 2019 with a rate of 3.4%, a ranking that had held roughly stable over the last couple for years, though down from the County’s more consistently competitive position both prior to the Great Recession and in the early years of its recovery.
In the wake of the economic impact caused by the Corona Virus pandemic, the civilian unemployment rate has increased substantially first to 13.9% in April, then sliding slightly to 13.5% in May.  This figure reflects job loss in the largest employment sectors of the County, including retail and hospitality, in addition to a subsect of manufacturing and international trade.