Santa Clarita’s unemployment rate grew and workforce shrank in August, marking the third month in a row that the jobless rate has increased.
The jobless rate was 4.9 percent last month, up from 4.8 percent in July, according to the State of California’s Employment Development Department.
Prior to this decrease, the number of people with jobs had increased for five months.
Of Santa Clarita’s 98,300-person workforce, 4,800 people were jobless in August.
Comparatively, 4,700 of the 98,500 people in the labor force were without a job in July.
The city’s jobless rate was 4.8 percent in August 2016.
Though, this jobless trend is not holding true in all areas of the city.
Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital, Santa Clarita’s third-largest employer, has not seen a decrease in employment, according to Director of Marketing and Public Relations Patrick Moody.
In fact, the hospital is currently hiring and looking to expand its staff, Moody said.
“Healthcare continues to be a competitive market,” Moody said. “At least here, there isn’t seasonality.”
Employment at the hospital is not determined by external factors, Moody said, but will grow when there are onsite changes, such as the new patient tower coming soon.
Los Angeles County saw a jobless increase to 4.8 percent, up from 4.5 the month before. Last August, the county’s jobless rate was 5.2 percent.
Statewide, the jobless rate increased to 5.1 percent in August, up from 4.8 percent in July, compared to 5.4 percent this time last year.
Unemployment nationally went up as well, increasing to 4.4 percent in August from 4.3 percent in July. Last August, the U.S. jobless rate was 4.9 percent.
The city of Los Angeles saw an increase in their jobless rate from 5.5 percent in July to 5.7 percent in August. There are 118,500 people in L.A. in search of a job.
Long Beach’s jobless rate increased to 5.9 percent in August from 5.7 percent in July.
Palmdale had 7.2 percent unemployment and Lancaster had 6.0 percent in August.
