Unemployment drops to 6.1% in state, Bay Area has lowest rates

The state’s seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate sits at 4 percent – unchanged from July.

Orange County jobs – compiled from a employer survey – jumped to 1.54 million workers last month, up 2,200 from July.

Meanwhile, the county gained back a portion of the payroll jobs it lost in July, adding a net 7,900 jobs as some schools started up again towards the end of the month.

Los Angeles County and the Inland Empire employers both added jobs in August and both regions saw their unemployment rates fall, according to figures released Friday from the state Employment Development Department.

The San Diego County unemployment rate was down to 5.1 percent in August, an improvement from the 5.4 percent rate of July, which was probably an aberrant spike. The number in August 2014 was 8.5 percent. The sector now has 205,300 jobs, up 4.3% year-over-year.

The only counties with unemployment below 4 percent were San Mateo (3.3 percent), Marin (3.5 percent) and San Francisco (3.6 percent). Since 1990, local employment has averaged a drop of 400 workers in the month due to seasonal employment fluctuations, primarily teachers not yet returning to school.

That translates to 7,000 people without work in August.

Public education and health care/social assistance each posted gains of about 5,000 jobs last month, followed by construction, which added 1,000 jobs. Kern manufacturing expanded by 300 jobs, or 2.1 percent, while retailers grew by 600 jobs, or 1.9 percent, the EDD reported. The Bay Area enjoys the lowest rates in the state. A year ago, California’s jobless rate was 7.4 percent.