Stanislaus unemployment ticks up a bit

MODESTO -- Stanislaus County saw a modest increase in the unemployment rate for September, but remained the lowest it has been since 2008.

The county ticked up to 13.9 percent unemployment in October, up a half a percentage point from a revised 13.4 percent for September. The increase follows historical trends as agriculture and manufacturing close out their busy seasons.

The state continued its economic recovery as the unemployment rate dipped to 10.1 percent in October, led by increases in private sector jobs such as construction, retail and well-paying professional work.

The state added 48,500 nonfarm jobs last month compared with September, and the jobless rate dipped a 10th of a percent in one month, according to the California Employment Development Department. About 14.4 million people were working.

“The private sector is adding a healthy number of jobs,” department spokesman Kevin Callori said. “Definitely some good trends (are) being seen.”

The department also sharply revised previous figures, showing that California gained 32,000 jobs in September instead of 8,500.

California’s jobless rate has fallen 1.4 percent since October of last year as the state added 295,300 nonfarm jobs.