North Bay Healthcare Adds 4,360 Jobs as 5 of 6 County Labor Forces Shrink

1 articles · Updated · The Santa Rosa Press Democrat · Aug 24

Private education and healthcare added jobs in all six North Bay counties from a year earlier, led by Sonoma with 1,500 and Solano with 1,400, even as total wage-and-salary jobs fell from June across the region.
Five of six county labor forces contracted from July 2025, with Sonoma down 5,800 workers and Solano down 5,400, helping push unemployment rates lower year over year despite weaker hiring.
July unemployment still rose from June in every North Bay county, reaching 7.1% in Lake and 5.5% in Mendocino, while Marin and Napa tied for the state's fifth-lowest rate at 4.2%.
California lost 20,500 nonfarm jobs in July, and economists said healthcare is masking broader weakness as construction and manufacturing flatten or slip and demographic pressures shrink the available workforce.
That shift is forcing colleges and training providers to make costly bets on healthcare and other local-service programs, with demand uncertainty raising the risk of stranded investments.