Mill Valley's Jobless Rate Rises

After three straight months of improvement, Mill Valley's unemployment rate rose again in June, hitting 6.2 percent, while the jobless rate across Marin County remained the lowest among California's counties at 8.2 percent, the state Employment Development Department reported Friday.

After hitting 6.7 percent in March – Mill Valley's highest jobless rate in more than a decade – the percentage of out-of-work local residents dropped in April and May. The figures remain a far cry from Mill Valley's jobless rolls of the past decade, which have hovered between 2 and 4 percent.

Countywide, Marin's unemployment rate rose from 7.9 percent in May, and was far better than anywhere else in California, with San Mateo County trailing in second at 9.2 percent.

Of Mill Valley's workforce of 7,100 people, 6,700 were employed in June. Those figures do not include those who are either partially employed, self-employed or are no longer collecting unemployment benefits because they have given up looking for a job.

Mill Valley's unemployment rate, 2005-2010

2010    Jun                  6.2

2010    May                 6.0

2010    Apr                  6.3

2010    Mar                 6.7

2010    Feb                  6.4

2010    Jan                   6.7

2009    Annual             5.9

2008    Annual             3.5

2007    Annual             2.7

2006    Annual             2.6

2005    Annual             2.9

Source: California Employment Development Dept., Labor Market Information Division