Unemployment Continues to Decline in Gilroy and Bay Area

Unemployment fell in Bay Area counties and in California as a whole in December, according to numbers released by the state's Employment Development Department.

Bay Area counties, which have maintained unemployment rates below the state average, saw continued declines in December. San Francisco's jobless rate fell to 7.6 percent in December, down from 7.8 percent in November and 9.5 percent last January, according to state officials.

In Santa Clara County, the unemployment rate fell from to 8.7 percent. Gilroy saw its unemployment rate drop from to 13.1 percent in December. The Garlic City's unemployement rate was as high as percent just a few months prior.

Marin County, which has the lowest unemployment rate in the state, fell to 6.5 percent in December from 6.9 percent in November.

San Mateo County, with the second-lowest rate in both the region and the state, fell to 7.2 percent from 7.5 percent.

Even the Bay Area counties with higher unemployment rates saw declines from November to December. Solano County, which has the highest rate in the region, saw it fall from 10.6 percent in November to 10.5 percent last month.

The decreases reflect statewide and national trends. California's unemployment rate dropped to 11.1 percent in December from 11.3 percent November. A year ago in December, state unemployment stood at 12.5 percent. National unemployment stands at 8.5 percent, down slightly from November's 8.6 percent.

—Gilroy Patch contributed to this report.