The unemployment rate in Stanislaus County stayed steady for the month of February and continued to fall below the estimates set last year according to the latest report from the Employment Development Department.

The February unemployment rate for Stanislaus County was at 9.4 percent, which is unchanged from the revised rate for January and below the year-ago estimate of 10.8 percent, the EDD reported.

The February EDD report shows job losses in the Trade, Transportation, and Utilities sector and Educational and Health Services, but job gains in Farming, Manufacturing and Leisure and Hospitality.

The Trade, Transportation, and Utilities sector saw a job decline of approximately 500 positions for the month, with 5.3 percent coming from clothing and clothing accessory stores and 3.7 percent from general merchandise stores.

The Educational and Health Services sector, which saw a decline of approximately 100 positions, all came within the health care industry, according to the EDD data.

The Leisure and Hospitality sector saw the largest growth in jobs for February, with an estimated 500 positions added. The sector includes restaurants, bars, and entertainment outlets and for the year is up by 9.4 percent. Manufacturing of both durable and food goods is up for the month, with an estimated increase of 200 positions. The sector also is up by 1 percent for the year, according to the EDD.

The Farming sector posted a job growth of approximately 300 positions for February, but for the year the sector is down by about 400 positions.

The other sectors showing job growth for the month were Professional and Business Services (100) and Government (100).

Merced County had an unemployment rate of 12.6 percent in February, down slightly from the unadjusted rate of 12.8 percent posted in January. San Joaquin County had a February unemployment rate of 8.8 percent, down from the unadjusted rate of 8.9 percent the month prior.

California had an unemployment rate of 5.7 percent for February and the nation had a rate of 5.2 percent for the same time period.

The occupations with the most help wanted ads in Stanislaus County for February were: Registered Nurses – 581; Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers – 342; Medical and Health Services Managers – 145; Speech-Language Pathologists – 121; First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers – 104; Retail Salespersons – 104; First Line Supervisors of Food Preparations and Service Workers – 104; Physical Therapists – 102; Critical Care Nurses – 94; and Maintenance and Repair Workers, General – 84.

The 10 companies that posted the most help wanted ads for February in Stanislaus County were: The Hospitals of Providence – 144; Kaiser Permanente – 119; Ceres Unified School District – 119; Tenet Healthcare Corporation – 117; Sutter Health – 96; TruStaff – 96; California State University System – 67; Soliant – 63; Robert Half International – 59; and Supplemental Health Care – 52.