Nevada County’s unemployment rate continued its spring slide in May. It dropped another half-a-point, to two-and-a-half percent. That’s also over three points better than a year ago, when it was at five-point-seven percent. James Cox is a business services representative with the Alliance for Workforce Development office in Grass Valley. He says although inflation continues to hurt the local economy, the pandemic’s impacts are slowly dissipating…

click to listen to James Cox

But the sector with the biggest percentage increase was Mining, Logging, and Construction, with a growth of 190 jobs. And total jobs is now equal to a year ago…

click to listen to James Cox

And although the county’s second-biggest sector, Leisure and Hospitality, continues to lag, with a seasonal loss of 360 jobs, Cox says things are also looking up. He says the total number of jobs is still over 400 more than a year ago. Nevada County has the 12th lowest rate among the state’s 58 counties. Meanwhile, California had another month of five-figure job growth, with its unemployment rate returning to pre-pandemic levels.