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County records drop in unemployment despite job losses in farming, manufacturing
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The unemployment rate continued to decline in Stanislaus County for another month, according to the latest report from the Employment Development Department.

The unemployment rate for September in Stanislaus County was at 7.5 percent, down from a revised rate of 7.9 percent in August and below the year-ago estimate of 7.9 percent.

The county saw declines in employment in industries relying on the harvest season, but added jobs in the government sector, according to the EDD.

The farming sector recorded a decline of approximately 100 positions and the manufacturing sector dropped an estimated 1,600 positions. In the manufacturing sector there were declines in both durable and nondurable goods, but the largest decline was in food manufacturing at 13.6 percent. Both the farming sector and manufacturing are down in jobs for the year, with farming showing a decline of 3.8 percent and manufacturing down by 2.1 percent.

The only other sector to post a job decline in September in Stanislaus County was in Leisure and Hospitality, which saw an estimated drop of 400 positions. The drop in September is historically typical for this sector as several summer jobs come to an end.

The government sector posted the largest job gains for the month of September, with approximately 1,000 positions added for the month. All of those positions came from school districts and educational offices at the state and local level, according to the EDD’s data.

Other sectors posting job growth in September were Educational and Health Services at about 200 positions, and Construction at about 100 positions.

Merced County had an unemployment rate of 8.2 percent in September, down from a rate of 9.3 percent in August. San Joaquin County had a September unemployment rate of 7.5 percent, down from 7.8 percent posted in August. California had an unemployment rate of 5.3 percent and the nation’s was at 4.8 percent for the same time period.

Turlock had an unemployment rate of 6.7 percent in September, down from the 7.1 percent posted in August. Denair had a rate of 4.3 percent, which is a drop from the 4.5 percent posted in August. Hughson had a September rate of 10.9 percent, down from the 11.5 percent posted in August. Keyes had a rate of 12.4 percent in September, down from the 13.1 percent in August. Ceres had an unemployment rate of 8.1 percent in September, down from the 8.6 percent in August.

The occupations with the most help wanted ads in Stanislaus County for September were: Registered Nurses – 546; Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers – 430; Retail Salespersons – 143; First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers – 136; Personal Care Aides – 103; Maintenance and Repair Workers – 97; Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping – 93; Teacher Assistants – 89; Occupational Therapists – 87; and Security Guards – 87.

The 10 companies that posted the most help wanted ads for September in Stanislaus County were: West Suburban Medical Center – 230; The Hospitals of Providence – 167; Sutter Health – 136; Modesto City Schools – 73; TruStaff – 72; Ceres Unified School District – 70; Tenet Healthcare Corporation – 61; Supplemental Health Care – 53; Stanislaus County Office of Education – 53; and Kaiser Permanente – 53.