The unemployment rate in Stanislaus County continues on a downward trend, coming in at its lowest level so far this year, according to the recently released Employment Development Department data.

The unemployment rate in Stanislaus County for April was at 9.8 percent, down from a revised rate of 10.3 percent in March and below the year-ago estimate of 11.6 percent. The April rate marks the first time this year the unemployment rate has dropped below 10 percent in Stanislaus County. It’s also the lowest rate recorded since September 2014, when the rate was at 9.7 percent.

The farming sector in Stanislaus County posted the most new positions in April with an estimated 300 new jobs, according to the EDD. Manufacturing, construction and leisure and hospitality also added an approximate 200 new positions each for the month. The government sector posted a job growth of about 100 positions locally.

The two sectors showing job declines for the month were educational and health services, which was down by about 300 positions and professional and business services, which dropped an estimated 200 positions, the EDD reported.

Locally, almost all sectors posted job growth or stability for the year-over, except farming and manufacturing. Manufacturing is down by about 1,800 positions and farming is down by an estimated 400 positions. However, the bulk of hiring for those two sectors typically comes in the summer months.

Stanislaus County had a labor force of 237,300 in April with 213,900 employed and an estimated 23,400 unemployed.

The unemployment rate in Merced County for April was at 11.6 percent, down from the 12.9 percent reported in March. The unemployment rate for San Joaquin County in April was at 8.8 percent, down from 9.5 percent.

California’s unemployment rate was at 6.1 percent in April and the nation’s was at 5.1 percent for the same time period. Both rates are down from the March reports.

EDD’s report on payroll employment, which includes wage and salary jobs, in the nonfarm industries of California totaled 16,012,200 in April, a net gain of 29,500 jobs since the March survey. This followed a gain of 40,500 jobs as revised in March. In a year-over-year comparison from April 2014 to April 2015, nonfarm payroll employment in California increased by 457,300 jobs, representing a gain of 2.9 percent.

The unemployment rate in Turlock for April was at 8.8 percent, down from a rate of 9.3 percent in March. Denair had a rate of 5.6 percent, down from the 6 percent recorded in March. Hughson had an April rate of 14.1 percent, a drop from the 14.8 percent recorded in March.  Keyes saw their rate fall from 16.8 percent in March to 15.9 percent in April. Ceres had an unemployment rate of 10.5 percent in April,  down from 11.1 percent.

The jobs and professions having the most help wanted ads in Stanislaus County for April were: Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers — 588; Registered Nurses — 498; Retail Salespersons — 202; Customer Service Representatives — 175; Maintenance and Repair Workers, General — 158; First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales — 155; Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing — 123; Physical Therapists — 106; Executive Secretaries and Executive Administrative Assistants — 104; and Insurance Sales Agents — 102.

The 10 companies that posted the most help wanted ads for April in Stanislaus County were: Tenet Healthcare Corporation — 261; TruStaff — 105; Ceres Unified School District — 98; CTG - Computer Task Group — 90; Sutter Health — 82; Kaiser Permanente — 76; Modesto City Schools — 72; Supplemental Health Care — 69; Robert Half International — 67; and Turlock Unified School District — 66.