COUNTYWIDE : May Jobless Rate Holds Steady at 6.1%

Ventura County’s unemployment rate held firm at 6.1% in May, indicating a lull in the area’s economic recovery, state officials said Tuesday.

The county’s jobless rate had fallen each month from February through April after a four-year high of 7.6% in January.

“It looks like things have stabilized somewhat,” said Linda Dever, alternate manager of the state Employment Development Department office in south Oxnard. “At least we’re not seeing any signs of a worsening recession.”

The county unemployment rate in May was still far lower than the state’s 7.6% and the nation’s 6.6%. The rates are not adjusted to reflect expected seasonal variations in certain industries, such as agriculture and construction.

The number of Ventura County residents employed in May dropped to 339,800 from 343,900 in April. The jobless rate remained unchanged from April because the number of people without work fell to 22,200 in May from 22,500 the previous month, officials said.

Pat Baldoni, employment service supervisor for the Simi Valley EDD office, said the county’s May unemployment report was neither heartening nor discouraging. Rather, he said, the county’s economy is struggling to emerge from the recession.

Between 250 and 300 new unemployment claims continue to be filed each week at the Simi Valley office, a higher number than normal for summer months, Baldoni said. But at the same time, the number of job openings posted by employers has risen to nearly 200 on average in recent weeks, which Baldoni said indicates that new jobs are being created.