The unemployment rate in Stanislaus County saw a decline in August and continues to fall below the 10 percent mark, according to the latest numbers from the Employment Development Department.
The unadjusted seasonal unemployment rate in August for Stanislaus County was at 8.5 percent, which falls below the 9.3 percent recorded in July and the year-ago estimate of 10.2 percent. August marks the fifth consecutive month the county has had an unemployment rate below 10 percent.
For August, Stanislaus County had a labor force of 244,200, with an estimated 20,800 unemployed, according to the EDD.
Leading Stanislaus County’s job growth for August was a substantial boost in the Manufacturing sector. The sector added an estimated 3,000 positions for the month, the majority of which is a benefit of the harvest season. The EDD reported that 35.4 percent of the added jobs were in food manufacturing.
Despite the growth of manufacturing jobs for the month, the sector as a whole is falling below where it was last year, by an estimated 2,100 positions, according to the EDD.
Other sectors in Stanislaus County reporting job gains for the month were: Farming (700); Trade, Transportation, and Utilities (200); and Educational and Health Services (100).
All other sectors remained flat for the month, except Professional and Business Services, which saw a drop of approximately 200 positions, and the Government sector, which recorded an estimated decrease of 300 positions for the month.
Merced County had an August unemployment rate of 9.7 percent, down from 10.8 percent in July. San Joaquin County had an unemployment rate of 8.3 percent in August, down from 8.9 percent recorded the month prior.
California’s unemployment rate decreased to 6.1 percent in August. The number of people unemployed in California was 1,163,000 – down by 17,000 over the month, and down by 222,000 compared with August of last year. The U.S. unemployment rate decreased in August to 5.1 percent.
The unemployment rate in Turlock for August was at 7.6 percent, down from a rate of 8.4 percent in July. Denair had a rate of 4.9 percent, down from 5.4 percent recorded in July. Hughson had an August rate of 12.3 percent, a decrease from the 13.5 percent recorded in July. Keyes saw their rate dip from 15.3 percent in July to 13.9 percent in August. Ceres had an unemployment rate of 9.1 percent in August, down from 10.1 percent in July.
The jobs and professions having the most help wanted ads in Stanislaus County for August were: Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers — 732; Registered Nurses — 599; Retail Salespersons — 171; First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales — 154; Customer Service Representatives — 153; Maintenance and Repair Workers, General — 142; Physical Therapists — 131; First-Line Supervisors of Production and Operating Workers — 121; Light Truck or Delivery Service Drivers — 118; and First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support — 110.
The 10 companies that posted the most help wanted ads for August in Stanislaus County were: TruStaff — 184; Tenet Healthcare Corporation — 141; Sutter Health — 111; Modesto City Schools — 87; Ceres Unified School District — 82; Kaiser Permanente — 79; Robert Half International — 75; CTG - Computer Task Group — 74; Supplemental Health Care — 66; and Stanislaus County Office of Education — 61.
