Placer County remains resilient
Roseville, Calif. – In Placer County, the unemployment rate has risen slightly while retaining its status among the best-performing counties in California, trailing the Bay Area and Orange County.
Statewide, the unemployment rate has dipped again slightly. According to the latest report from the California Economic Development Department (EDD), the current statewide rate is 5.2%, down from last report, yet still up from 4.7% back in September 2025
Placer County dipped statewide and is tied with Santa Barbara and Sonoma County for the fifth-lowest unemployment rate in California. Both inflation and unemployment in the United States have risen over the past few months, although both remain below historical averages.
Local Counties At a Glance
- Placer 4.2%
- Sacramento 4.8%
- El Dorado 4.7%
- Nevada 4.6%
- Yolo 5.6%
- Yuba 6.4%
California Unemployment Rate by County (Lowest to Highest)
| COUNTY | UNEMPLOYMENT RATE |
|---|---|
| San Mateo | 3.60% |
| San Francisco | 3.70% |
| Marin | 4.00% |
| Mono | 4.00% |
| Napa | 4.00% |
| Santa Clara | 4.00% |
| Orange | 4.10% |
| Sierra | 4.10% |
| Placer | 4.20% |
| Santa Barbara | 4.20% |
| Sonoma | 4.20% |
| Inyo | 4.30% |
| San Luis Obispo | 4.30% |
| Alameda | 4.40% |
| San Diego | 4.40% |
| Ventura | 4.40% |
| Contra Costa | 4.50% |
| Nevada | 4.60% |
| El Dorado | 4.70% |
| Sacramento | 4.80% |
| Humboldt | 5.00% |
| Shasta | 5.00% |
| Solano | 5.00% |
| Mariposa | 5.20% |
| Mendocino | 5.20% |
| San Bernardino | 5.20% |
| Santa Cruz | 5.20% |
| Trinity | 5.20% |
| Tuolumne | 5.20% |
| Los Angeles | 5.30% |
| Amador | 5.40% |
| Plumas | 5.40% |
| Riverside | 5.40% |
| Yolo | 5.60% |
| Monterey | 5.70% |
| Modoc | 5.80% |
| Butte | 5.90% |
| Calaveras | 5.90% |
| Del Norte | 5.90% |
| San Benito | 5.90% |
| Tehama | 5.90% |
| San Joaquin | 6.20% |
| Lassen | 6.30% |
| Yuba | 6.40% |
| Lake | 6.60% |
| Glenn | 6.90% |
| Siskiyou | 6.90% |
| Stanislaus | 7.00% |
| Madera | 7.40% |
| Fresno | 7.70% |
| Sutter | 8.00% |
| Kings | 8.50% |
| Kern | 8.80% |
| Merced | 9.20% |
| Alpine | 9.80% |
| Tulare | 10.10% |
| Colusa | 11.10% |
| Imperial | 17.60% |
"The Real Unemployment"
Public agencies regularly use a series of measures to report on labor underutilization. Labeled U-1 through U-6, each measure takes a variety of statistics into account to report numbers. The U-6, although less used, is often considered a more reliable indicator. For example statewide, the California EDD reports California unemployment numbers at 5.6%. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) currently ranges from 2.5 percent (U-1) to 10 percent (U-6).
- U-1, persons unemployed 15 weeks or longer, as a percent of the civilian labor force;
- U-2, job losers and persons who completed temporary jobs, as a percent of the civilian labor force;
- U-3, total unemployed, as a percent of the civilian labor force (this is the definition used for the official unemployment rate);
- U-4, total unemployed plus discouraged workers, as a percent of the civilian labor force plus discouraged workers;
- U-5, total unemployed, plus discouraged workers, plus all other marginally attached workers, as a percent of the civilian labor force plus all marginally attached workers; and
- U-6, total unemployed, plus all marginally attached workers, plus total employed part time for economic reasons, as a percent of the civilian labor force plus all marginally attached workers.
