As the farming sector ramped up activity in April, Stanislaus County saw a decline in the number of unemployed individuals, according to the latest report from the Employment Development Department.

Stanislaus County had an unemployment rate of 6.4 percent in April, down from a revised rate of 7.5 percent in March and down from the year-ago estimate of 6.6 percent.

The increase in employment for the county was largely driven by increases in the farming sector. The farming sector added approximately 600 jobs for the month, according to the EDD.

Job growth of around 300 positions were recorded in the construction, leisure and hospitality, and professional and business services sectors. The government and educational and health services sectors each added approximately 200 positions in April, the EDD reported.

The only sector to post a decline in jobs in April in Stanislaus County was manufacturing, which was down by an estimated 100 positions. The sector also is down by approximately 1,700 jobs from the same time last year, according to the EDD.

Stanislaus County had an estimated labor force of 239,900 in April, with approximately 15,300 unemployed.

Merced County had an unemployment rate of 9 percent in April, down from 11 percent in March. San Joaquin County had an unemployment rate of 6 percent, down from 7.3 percent in March.

California had an unemployment rate of 3.9 percent and the nation’s was at 3.3 percent for the same time period.

Turlock’s unemployment rate fell to 4.4 percent in April, down from 5.4 percent in March. Denair’s rate was at 3.5 percent in April, down from 4.2 percent in March. Hughson had an April rate of 6.5 percent, a decrease from the 7.7 percent posted in March. Keyes saw a drop from 10.1 percent in March to 8.6 percent in April. Ceres had an unemployment rate of 7.4 percent in April, down from the 8.4 percent in March.

The occupations with the most help wanted ads in Stanislaus County for April were: Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers – 371; Registered Nurses – 286; Retail Salespersons – 198; First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers – 191; Customer Service Representatives — 112; Security Guards – 108; Maintenance and Repair Workers – 92; First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers – 87; Stock Clerks, Sales Floor – 85; and Combined Food Preparation and Serving Workers, Including Fast Food – 77.

The 10 companies that posted the most help wanted ads for April in Stanislaus County were: Tenet Healthcare Corporation – 197; Conifer Health Solutions — 175; Yosemite Community College District – 158; Sutter Health – 96; Memorial Medical Center, Modesto — 86; Emanuel Medical Center — 81; Save Mart Supermarkets – 68; Telecare Corporation - 61; CVS Health – 45; and CSU System - 44.