Stanislaus County’s unemployment rate saw a welcome drop in August as more food manufacturing jobs opened up with the arrival of harvest season.
The Employment Development Department reported the county’s unemployment rate for August was at 10.2 percent, down from the revised 11.4 percent recorded in July and below the year-ago estimate of 12 percent.
The county had an estimated labor force of 239,100 individuals in August with 214,600 employed and 24,500 unemployed, according to the EDD.
The drop in unemployment for the month was largely pushed by an increase in jobs in the manufacturing sector, particularly in food manufacturing. The sector as a whole saw an 11.8 percent increase in new positions for the month. Within that rate food manufacturing recorded a 28 percent increase over the month prior, the EDD report. However, the sector does remain below the rates posted in 2013 by an estimated 2.4 percent.
The farming sector also helped decrease the unemployment rate down for the month as it added an estimated 1,100 jobs, according to the EDD. The county typically sees the unemployment decline in August and September when the harvest season hits its peak.
Other sectors recording job increases in August were: Construction; Educational and Health Services; Professional and Business Services; and Trade, Transportation and Utilities.
The Information, Government and Leisure and Hospitality sectors all reported modest job declines for August.
The unemployment rate in Merced County fell from 12.7 percent in July to 11.3 percent in August. San Joaquin County saw the unemployment rate drop in August to 10.3 percent from 11.1 percent.
The unemployment rate in California was at 7.4 percent and the nation’s was at 6.3 percent for the same time period. California had the largest increase in employment out of all the states for the month, according to the U.S. bureau of Labor Statistics.
The unemployment rate in Turlock fell to 7.7 percent in July, down from 8.6 percent. Denair had an unemployment rate of 5.5 percent, which is down from the 6.2 percent recorded in July. Hughson had an unemployment rate of 13.5 percent, down from 15 percent. Keyes saw their rate decrease from 20.4 percent to 18.5 percent. Ceres had an August rate of 12.9 percent, down from 14.3 percent.
The jobs and professions having the most help wanted ads in Stanislaus County for July were: Registered Nurses – 593; Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers – 371; Retail Salespersons – 156; Physical Therapists – 155; First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers – 151; Customer Service Representatives — 135; Maintenance and Repair Workers, General — 101; Critical Care Nurses — 97; Medical and Health Services Managers — 93; and Occupational Therapists — 89.
The 10 companies that posted the most help wanted ads for July in Stanislaus County were: TruStaff – 161; Tenet Healthcare Corporation — 119; CTG – Computer Task Group — 103; Conifer health Solutions — 92; Soliant — 84; California State University System — 59; Kaiser Permanente — 58; Sutter Health – 56; Supplemental Health Care – 46; and Alliance Worknet – 43.
