California – On Saturday, three bay area counties hit their lowest unemployment rates in California according to the Employment Development Department (EDD).
In recognition of Labor Day, California’s EDD today released its annual Labor Day Briefing that shows the state rates 6.1 percent in unemployment, meaning a 0.4 drop from July’s rates and a 1.5 percent drop from reported rates this time last year. An estimated 76,000 people came out from unemployment with 1,163,000 remaining. This is the fourth year of strong continued job growth and steadily falling unemployment.
“This report confirms California’s economic leadership […] Many Californians have struggled to regain their foothold in the job market, but thanks to their resilience and the state’s current jobs expansion, the Golden State is back, and in a big way.” said EDD Director Patrick W. Henning, Jr.
San Mateo, Martin and San Francisco are the three counties recording the lowest unemployment with San Mateo ranking ahead with only 3.3. Even though rates in these counties were not hitting the lowest in employment, Solano continues to have the highest rate of unemployment in the region, but even that county’s 5.9 percent rate improved by 0.3 percent compared to previous figures.
EDD projects 1.6 million job openings, combining new and replacement opportunities, and encourages job seekers to take advantage of the trends and growth occupations highlighted in the briefing, including the professional and business services sector and the educational services.
For now, California continues to lead the nation in job creation after the recession