Mono employment climbs sharply,

Recovery underway

Hiring surged in Mono County this summer, with more than 1,400 workers added to payrolls through August, which dropped the county’s unemployment rate a full percentage point to 5.9 percent.

Inyo County continued its progress on the labor front by maintaining a steady number of workers and dropping its unemployment rate to 5.8 percent.

Both counties now have more people on the job in August 2021 than they did in August 2020, according to the job and unemployment numbers for August that were released Sept. 17 by the California Employment Development Department. In August 2020, Mono County’s unemployment rate was 11 percent while Inyo had an 8 percent unemployment rate.

Overall, the total workforce in Mono County jumped by about 17 percent, to a total of 8,460 workers in August 2021. That put the workforce well ahead of the pandemic numbers recorded in August 2020, when just 7,040 people were at work.

Job gains have been on the upswing during the summer. June recorded 7,050 workers in Mono County. The number of job holders increased to 7,500 in July.

The large service and tourist-related sectors of the Mono and Mammoth Lakes economy made substantial employment gains in August. The Mono County service sector added about 1,100 jobs from July to August, according to the state. Virtually all those jobs were added in the Leisure and Hospitality sector, bringing total employment in that

sector to about 4,000. Most other sectors remained steady or saw minor changes.

The number of people in Mono County filing for or receiving unemployment benefits has hovered at about 500 the past three months.

Inyo County saw little change in its workforce and unemployment numbers. The total number of job holders in Inyo County has remained at about 7,200

since June 2021. That is more people at work, however, than the 7,000 in August 2020.

The large government sector in Inyo County has kept its unemployment rate lower than in Mono County throughout the pandemic. Federal, state and local government employees total about 3,000 in Inyo County, a figure which has not fluctuated much during the pandemic.

The county also has recorded about 500 unemployed residents over the past three months.

The California unemployment rate dropped to 7.5 percent in August. The national unemployment rate was 5.3 percent in August.