For the third straight month, it’s a slight one-tenth-of-a-point uptick in Nevada County’s unemployment rate. And, at four-point-two percent for March, it’s also nearly half-a-point higher than a year ago. Maryanne Connelly is a business services representative with the Grass Valley office of the Alliance for Workforce Development. She says winter storms kept more people at home and also closed stores. But she says the gap between the number of job opportunities and the number of people seeking them appears to have nearly closed…

click to listen to Maryanne Connelly

Connelly also mentions that employers have been working hard to address their worker shortages…

click to listen to Maryanne Connelly

The sector hit the hardest in Nevada County was Leisure and Hospitality, with a loss of 130 jobs. It includes restaurants and hotels, The state’s jobless rate was four-point-eight percent for March. Nevada County had the 17th lowest rate among the state’s 58 counties. The highest rate is found in Colusa County, at 19-percent. The lowest is in San Mateo County, at just two-point-eight percent. Meanwhile, the Alliance also has a Job Fair coming up on May third, at the Grass Valley Veterans Building.