Riverside County’s jobless rate falls amid gains across multiple sectors

With gains across almost all sectors of the regional economy, Riverside County's jobless rate dropped last month, according to figures released Friday, June 18, by the California Employment Development Department. The unemployment rate in May, based on preliminary estimates, was 7.2%, compared to 7.5% in April, the EDD said. The May rate was nearly nine percentage points lower than the year-ago level, when countywide unemployment stood at 15.7% amid the public health lockdowns. About 79,500 residents were out of work last month, and 1,027,200 were employed, according to the EDD. Coachella had the highest unemployment rate countywide in May at 12.4%, followed by Mecca at 11.3%, Winchester at 10.6%, Hemet at 10.4% and Desert Hot Springs at 10.3%. The combined unemployment rate