Colusa out of work

Colusa County saw its unemployment rate increase to more than 27 percent in January, according to figures released Thursday by the state Employment Development Department, but county officials are confident those numbers will drop in the months ahead.

"Colusa County doesn't have a lot of people, so those numbers seem high," said Colusa County Supervisor Mark Marshall. "It also doesn't take into account seasonal work. We are an agricultural community, so a lot of folks will be going back to work soon."

But Marshall is realistic in that rural Colusa County has work to do to become economically healthy.

County officials are desperately trying to attract more commercial and industrial business to viable areas, Marshall said, which will provide more employment opportunities for those looking for work.

Two years ago, the county managed to snag a Pacific Gas and Electric Co. power plant — which is near completion — and has a community college campus under construction in Williams.

"We're looking at other commercial ventures for the Williams Industrial Park," Marshall said. "These are the kind of businesses that provide jobs."

In the Central Valley area, Colusa County had 27.4 of its workforce out of a job in January, according to the state. Sutter and Yuba counties had more than 20 percent of their labor force out of work, followed by Lake County at 19.36 percent, Glenn County at 18 percent and Yolo County at 14.8.

The data was not seasonally adjusted.

Only three counties in the state had unemployment rates less than 10 percent in January: Mono County had the lowest rate at 8.1 percent, followed by Marin County at 8.9 percent and San Mateo at 9.7 percent.

Although Colusa County's unemployment is 3 percent higher than it was last year, Marshall said he remains "cautiously optimistic" that business will pick up, especially those that rely heavily on Interstate 5 traffic, such as restaurants, gas stations and motels.

"I don't think people realize just how much we rely on tourism," Marshall said. "When people aren't traveling in the winter months, those business are forced to lay off workers."

Marshall said the economic downturn has also taken its toll on the county, but expects the economy to eventually turn around.

According to the state, 3,220 people out of a 11,770 person workforce in Colusa County are unemployed.

Contact Susan Meeker at 458-2121 or smeeker@tcnpress.com.