By Leon Worden — SCVNews.com

Mirroring a spike in joblessness nationally, Santa Clarita’s and Los Angeles County’s unemployment rates notched up in January as holiday retail jobs were eliminated and motion picture work slowed down.

Santa Clarita’s unadjusted jobless rate hit 6.7 percent in January, up from December’s 6.2-percent rate but down from the year-ago January figure of 7.4 percent. The unadjusted rate is heavily influenced by the curtailment of seasonal jobs.

Los Angeles County’s adjusted rate – which isn’t nearly so influenced by seasonal job losses – rose to 10.4 percent in January from 10.3 percent in December. It, too, was significantly better than the year-ago mark of 11.6 percent.

California’s rate held steady at 9.8 percent, while the nation’s jobless rate rose to 7.9 percent in January from 7.8 percent in December.

Across Los Angeles County, the trade and transportation sector lost 25,900 jobs over the month, mostly due to the loss of 19,700 seasonal retail jobs but also reflecting cutbacks in clothing and clothing accessories stores (down 5,200).

L.A. County’s information sector saw a loss of 15,400 jobs, mostly in film, television and sound recording (14,000 jobs) following the year-end rush for Oscar contention.

Other month-over-month losers in L.A. County were administrative and support service and waste services (down 6,300); professional, scientific, and technical services (down 5,400); accommodation and food services (down 6,300); leisure and hospitality (down 9,900); private educational and health service (down 7,000); and government (which includes public schools), down 6,300.

The only winners over the month were construction, up 800 jobs, and “other,” up 200.

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