INLAND EMPIRE – (INT) – More people are looking for work across the Inland Empire than at any time in the past three years.

The California Employment Development Department (EDD) reports that just over 119-thousand people filed jobless claims in January with an increase of 9-thousand over December.

The figure comes as the unemployment rate opened the year at 5-point-5 percent. For the previous three months, the jobless rate held steady at 5-point-1 percent.

Shortly after the pandemic struck in April 2020, 295-thousand were unemployed across Riverside and San Bernardino counties. The next month, the jobless rate soared to more than 15-percent.

Story Date: March 28, 2024