The unemployment rate in Stanislaus County climbed upward in January, as nearly all sectors but one recorded job declines or no growth for the month, according to the latest report from the Employment Development Department.

The unemployment rate in Stanislaus County was 7.4 percent in January, up from a revised rate of 6.8 percent in December. The January rate is below the year-ago estimate of 9.1 percent.

The labor market for Stanislaus County in January was estimated at 223,900 employed and 17,900 unemployed. The previous month the number of unemployed individuals was approximately 16,600.

The growth in unemployment for the region was largely driven by job declines in the Trade, Transportation and Utilities sector, which lost an estimated 1,700 jobs in January. The majority of those positions were at clothing and general merchandise stores, which do typically layoff seasonal employees after the holidays.

Other sectors posting a decline in jobs were: Farming (500); Construction (200); Educational and Health Services (100); and Leisure and Hospitality (300). All the other sectors were flat for the month, except Government, which added an estimated 100 positions for the month.

The unemployment rate in Merced County was at 9.9 percent, which is up from the 9.2 percent in December. San Joaquin County had an unemployment rate of 7 percent, which is an increase from the 6.6 percent in December. California had an unemployment rate of 4.6 percent and the nation’s was at 4.5 percent for the same time period.

Turlock’s unemployment rate dropped to 5.9 percent in January, down from 6.1 percent in December. Denair’s rate grew up to 6 percent for the month, which was an increase from the 4 percent posted in December. Hughson had a January rate of 6.1 percent, which was a decrease from the 9.8 percent posted in December. Keyes had a rate of 14.3 percent in January, which was an increase from the 11.2 percent posted in December. Ceres had an unemployment rate of 7.9 percent in January, up from the 7.3 percent in December.

The occupations with the most help wanted ads in Stanislaus County for January were: Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers – 505; Registered Nurses – 369; Retail Salespersons – 154; First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers – 123; Light Truck or Delivery Services Drivers – 106; First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers – 102; Maintenance and Repair Workers – 81; Customer Service Representatives – 73; Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners – 72; and First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers – 69.  

The 10 companies that posted the most help wanted ads for January in Stanislaus County were: Tenet Healthcare Corporation – 148; Ceres Unified School District – 103; Kaiser Permanente – 77; Sutter Health – 69; E&J Gallo – 67; Robert Half International – 56; Starbucks – 54; Autozone, Inc. – 53; Modesto City Schools – 50; and California State University System – 49.