ECONOMIC DATA

View "A Look at Your Labor Market" presentation by Labor Market representative, Dennis Mullins, April 2008

The following information is generated by the Employment Development Department of the State of California. For more information, visit our Web site: www.labormarketinfo.edd.ca.gov or contact the local labor market consultant at: (707) 441-5892.

North Coast Region Projection Highlights
(Del Norte, Humboldt, Mendocino, and Lake Counties)

Industry

Total employment for the area, which now includes Self-Employment, UnpaidFamily Workers, Farm and Nonfarm employment, is expected to reach over 136,300 by 2014, an annual growth rate of just under 1 percent. This annual growth rate is slower than the growth rate for the state as a whole which is expected to grow at about 1.6 percent annually during the same period.

Nonfarm employment, the major component of the total jobs tally, is expected to grow at slightly more than 1 percent per year. The largest increase is expected to be in the Government sector primarily due to expected gains in local government employment. Significant increases are also anticipated in the Retail Trade, Leisure and Hospitality and Education and Health Services sectors. The graph below displays estimated 2004 and forecasted 2014 employment levels for the major industry sectors in the North Coast Region.

Click for detailed image

The Information sector is expected to be the fastest growing for the area based on an annual average growth rate of about 2.5 percent. Annual growth rates for Construction (1.7 percent) and Wholesale Trade (1.4 percent) will outpace the overall annual growth rate for the region.

Occupations

Occupational projections for the period 2004 to 2014 forecast: About 1,200 new jobs from industry growth, About 30,300 job openings from Net Replacements, A combined total of about 42,500 job openings.

The 50 occupations with the most job openings are expected to generate 24,500 total job openings, about 58 percent of all job openings in North Coast Region during the 2004-2014 period. At the top of the list are various occupations such as Registered Nurses, Retail Salespersons, and Cashiers which pay from $30 to $9 per hour. Higher-skilled occupations requiring a Bachelor's or higher include Managers, Teachers, and Auditors and Accountants, among others.

The 50 fastest growing occupations are all expected to outpace the county's annual growth rate of 9.8. Occupations in the Construction occupational field dominate the fastest growing list. Some examples of these occupations are Carpenters and Carpenter Helpers which have wages of $24 and $15 an hour, respectively.

Humboldt County Snapshot

Humboldt County is the largest and most populous of the north coast counties. The county's 3,600 square miles are known for their rural beauty, roughly 80 percent of which is designated recreation areas and timber land.

Popular sites include: Six Rivers National Forest, King Range National Conservation Area, Humboldt Redwoods State Park, Redwoods National Park, and Richardson Grove State Park. California's Department of Finance estimates the county's 2007 population to be 132,000 persons; by the year 2020, Humboldt is projected to grow to almost 142,200 residents.

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Labor Force

Humboldt County's 2006 labor force total (60,300), equaled the level recorded in 2005, however, the labor force has declined by 1.3 percent (-800) since 2002.2 The 2006 unemployment rate, 5.6 percent, was a decline of 0.5 percentage point from the previous year. As shown in the chart to the right, the county's unemployment rate, although higher, has closely followed the state's pattern over the profiled years.

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Industry Employment

During the 2002-2006 period, Humboldt's industry employment declined, overall, by 200 jobs. While the county experienced job loss in manufacturing; educational and health services; other services; professional and business services; and leisure and hospitality; growth in other industries offset some of the decline (see chart on the right). Construction experienced the fastest growth rate (25 percent), an increase of 500 jobs. Within government (up a total of 300 jobs), declines in the federal and state components were more than offset by an additional 600 jobs in local government. The trade, transportation, and utilities industry increased by 200 jobs over the profiled years.

Click for detailed image