County jobless rate dips below state average

San Benito County’s unemployment rate last month was less than the state’s rate, a stark change from the start of the year when jobless numbers exceeded 20 percent locally.
According to the California Employment Development Department, San Benito County’s jobless rate in October was 11.5 percent, a tenth of a percent dip from September and more than 3 percent below the unemployment rate a year ago.
The state’s jobless rate was 11.7 percent in October, down two-tenths of a percent from the previous month and nearly a full percent less than the rate last year at this time.
Non-farm payroll jobs jumped by 25,700 statewide in October for a total gain of nearly 193,000 jobs since the start of the year, according to the EDD. The national unemployment rate also fell in October, to 9 percent.
A federal survey of households – done with a smaller sample than the survey of employers from which the unemployment rate is derived – shows an increase in the number of employed people. It estimates the number of Californians holding jobs in October was 16,008,000, an increase of 92,000 from September and up 128,000 from the employment total in October.
The number of unemployed people in the state was just more than 2.1 million last month, down by 28,000 month-to-month and 144,000 less than the number of jobless in October of last year.
In nearby counties, the October unemployment rate was 9.5 percent in Santa Clara, 10.3 percent in Monterey, and 10.1 percent in Santa Cruz.