Unemployment Rate Drops Again

San Mateo County has something new to be thankful for -- a shrinking unemployment rate, according to the latest California Employment Development Department report for the San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City Metropolitan District. 

In fact, across the region, which includes Marin, San Francisco, and San Mateo counties, the unemployment rate has dipped to 7.9 percent in October 2011. That's down from a revised 8.1 percent in September 2011.

The EDD report for October 2011 shows an unemployment rate of 7.2 percent in Marin County, 8.1 percent in San Francisco County, and 7.9 percent in San Mateo County, with hospitality and construction on the upswing.

The state's unemployment rate decreased to 11.7 percent in October compared to 11.9 percent in September and 12.1 percent in August, according to the state's Employment Development Department.

Solano County, which has the highest unemployment rate in the region, also saw its jobless numbers go down to 10.9 percent from 11 percent in September.

The national unemployment rate also dropped in October: to 9.0 percent from 9.1 percent the prior month.

The state's unemployment rate is derived from a federal survey of 5,500 California households.

The survey showed that the number of Californians with jobs was up 128,000 compared to the same time last year.

- Bay City News