South Bay Unemployment Declines in August

By Bay City News and Jennifer Squires

Unemployment rates in the Bay Area subsided again in August after a brief rise in July, but statewide jobless rates continued to climb, state employment officials said Friday.

The jobless rate in California increased to 8.9 percent in August from 8.7 percent in July, according to a report released today by the California Employment Development Department.


That rate remains significantly below that of August 2012, when it stood at 10.4 percent.

In the Bay Area, where unemployment remains below the state average, unemployment rates declined from July to August. In most cases, the decline put unemployment rates back at near the levels seen in early summer.

The unemployment rate in the South Bay, which includes Santa Clara and San Benito counties, was 6.8 percent in August, down from a revised 7.2 percent in July, and below the year-ago estimate of 8.7 percent.

The unemployment rate was 8.5 percent in San Benito County, and 6.7 percent in Santa Clara County.

Gilroy's unemployment rate was 10.2 percent, one of the highest in Santa Clara County. Only San Martin was higher, at 16.2 percent. Morgan Hill's unemployment rate was 8.7 percent.

Elsewhere in the Bay Area:

• San Francisco saw a decrease from 5.9 to 5.6 percent.
• Marin County, which typically has the lowest unemployment rate in California, dropped from 5.3 to 5 percent. 
• East Bay and North Bay counties also saw lower unemployment levels, with Alameda County falling from 7.8 to 7.4 percent, Contra Costa County from 7.7 to 7.3 percent and Sonoma County from 7.1 to 6.6 percent. 
• Solano County, which holds the highest unemployment rates in the Bay Area, had its rate decline from 8.5 to 8.2 percent. 

The national unemployment rate declined to 7.3 percent in August, officials said.

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