Madison Aument
For 91.9 KVCR News, I'm Madison Aument. This is Economics IE. Each month, IEGO, a nonprofit focused on economic growth in the Inland Empire publishes the IE Labor Market Pulse, a newsletter that analyzes monthly employment data to provide insight into the region's labor market. Today, I'm speaking with Matthew Mena, the executive director of IEGO, about March's job numbers.
Can you talk about how unemployment changed from January to February?
Matthew Mena
Yeah, unemployment in our region fell. We're now at 5.3%, down from 5.5%. So that's always a good thing. However, there have been some seasonal job losses.
Madison Aument
Can you talk about which industries were affected?
Matthew Mena
Yeah, it's the usual seasonal job losses we see this time of year. Retail, transportation, and construction are typically the most affected by seasonal changes. Employers anticipate these fluctuations, so they hire workers on a temporary basis and may retain only a few of them afterward.
In addition to those industries, we also saw seasonal losses in retail trade and hospitality. The biggest decline, however, was in transportation and warehousing, where we had a 15.2% job loss. That’s quite high—normally, we expect around a 7.7% loss. There could be several factors at play there.
Madison Aument
Since unemployment is down but there have been job losses, how do those two things square with each other?
Matthew Mena
That’s a great question. One thing to keep in mind is that while we talk about job losses, our region's unemployment rate is still within a neutral range. The national unemployment average is between 4% and 5%, so at 5.3%, we’re doing fine.
What could be happening is that some people have stopped looking for work. They may have applied for jobs but haven’t found positions that match their skills or career goals, so they’ve exited the labor force, which affects the unemployment rate. Additionally, our region has seen a slight decline in population—about 4,000 people have left. While it's not a huge number, it does play a role in these employment figures.
Madison Aument
Got it. Looking ahead, what can we expect?
Matthew Mena
That’s the big question. There are a lot of factors to consider. We’re seeing continued investment in manufacturing, clean technology, and cybersecurity, which could drive job growth in those sectors.
But we don’t operate in a vacuum. National policies, federal investments, and international markets all impact our local economy—especially given our role in logistics and trade. Even in a place like Beaumont, global market shifts can have a ripple effect here.
We’ve seen steady growth in healthcare and some other industries, so that trend may continue. However, with a new administration in place, it’s difficult to predict exactly what will happen. A lot depends on state and federal investments moving forward.
Madison Aument
Great. Well, thank you so much for your time.
Matthew Mena
Thank you.
Madison Aument
Join us again next Monday for Economics IE. You can the IE Labor Market Pulse here.
Support for this segment comes from the Nowak Family. For KVCR News, I'm Madison Aument.
