Unemployment in Kern County is following the national spike in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.

On Friday, the Employment Development Department reported Kern County's unemployment rate at 18.6 percent for April.

That jumped from 12.1 percent in March.

In all, 34,800 people lost jobs in April. Workers in the leisure and hospitality industries were hit hardest, with 11,000 people losing jobs. According to the EDD's report, 7,200 people in the educational and health services industries lost jobs during the month.

Unemployment in April of 2019 in Kern County was only 8.2 percent.

Nationally, the current unemployment rate is 16.1 percent. In California, the unemployment rate is at 14.4 percent.