Valley’s October jobless rate lowest since 2007

The Northern San Joaquin Valley added 11,900 jobs in the past year and the unemployment rates for its three counties are at their lowest levels in eight years, according to data released Friday by the California Employment Development Department.

Stanislaus County led the way in job growth, adding 6,400 jobs from October 2014 to October 2015. Merced County added 700 jobs and San Joaquin County added 4,800.

“That’s a good number,” said EDD Labor Market Consultant Nati Martinez about the uptick in Stanislaus County jobs.

The October jobless rates were 8.5 percent in Stanislaus, 8.1 percent in San Joaquin and 9.1 percent in Merced. These are the counties’ lowest October unemployment rates since 2007, according to EDD data.

The EDD said California’s October unemployment rate was 5.8 percent, compared with 7.2 percent for October 2014. The numbers released by the EDD don’t take into account people who have stopped looking for work.

The Valley’s October unemployment rate rose slightly from September. But Martinez said that is normal as the season ends for canneries and other food processors.

Some of Stanislaus County’s big job gains from October 2014 to October 2015 were in health care, which added 1,200 jobs; food manufacturing, which added 1,000 jobs; and mining, logging and construction, which added 800 jobs. Those jobs were primarily in construction. Leisure and hospitality added 800 jobs.

San Joaquin County added 1,300 jobs in leisure and hospitality, 1,200 in government, and 700 in professional and business services. Merced County added 400 jobs in leisure and hospitality.

This story was originally published November 20, 2015 at 2:58 PM with the headline "Valley’s October jobless rate lowest since 2007."