The unemployment rate in Stanislaus County dropped to a new low for the year as the harvest season provides additional jobs for the area, according to the latest data from the Employment Development Department.

The unemployment rate for May was at 8 percent in Stanislaus County, which is below the revised rate of 8.9 percent in April and the year-ago estimate of 9.5 percent. The unemployment rate in Stanislaus County has not been this low since September 2015, when the rate was 7.9 percent, according to EDD data.

Stanislaus County had an estimated labor force of 243,800 people, with approximately 224,300 employed and 19,400 unemployed, according to the EDD.

Boosting the month’s employment was a significant increase in farming related jobs. The farm sector added an estimated 3,100 positions for the month and food manufacturing added approximately 700 new positions for the month, for a growth of 9.8 percent for the month and 2.3 percent for the year.

Every sector but one in Stanislaus County either reported job growth for the month or were flat. The one sector to post a decline in jobs was the government sector, which dropped approximately 500 positions for the month. Almost all of those job losses come from local school districts, which typically lays-off workers in the summer and rehires them at the start of the new school year.

For the year-over rates, all but two sectors in Stanislaus County are showing job growth. The two sectors posting fewer jobs than last year are the Information sector, which is down by about 100 positions, and the Farming sector, which is down by about 700 positions, according to the EDD. However, with the farming sector the number can change from a negative to a positive in a short time span as the harvest season ramps up.

Merced County had a May unemployment rate of 9.7 percent, down from the 11.2 percent posted in April. San Joaquin County had an unemployment rate of 7.1 percent, down from 8.1 percent in April. California had an unemployment rate of 4.7 percent and the nation had a rate of 4.5 percent for the same time period.

Turlock had an unemployment rate of 7.1 percent in May, down from the 8 percent posted in April. Denair had a rate of 4.5 percent, which is a decline from the 5.1 percent posted in April; Hughson had a May rate of 11.5 percent, down from the 12.9 percent posted in April; Keyes had a rate of 13.1 percent in May, down from the 14.6 percent in April; Ceres had an unemployment rate of 8.6 percent in May, down from the 9.6 percent in April.

The occupations with the most help wanted ads in Stanislaus County for May were: Registered Nurses – 487; Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers – 377; Retail Salespersons – 134; First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers – 1246; First Line Supervisors of Food Preparations and Service Workers – 106; Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping – 104; Maintenance and Repair Workers – 96; Medical and Health Services Managers – 90; Teacher Assistants – 89; and Customer Service Representatives – 86.

The 10 companies that posted the most help wanted ads for May in Stanislaus County were: West Suburban Medical Center – 200; The Hospitals of Providence – 166; Modesto City Schools – 109; Ceres Unified School District – 107; Kaiser Permanente – 86; Sutter Health – 85; California State University System – 85; Tenet Healthcare Corporation – 77; Stanislaus County Office of Education – 56; and Soliant – 54.