Unemployment rate dips in Kern Co., California

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) ? California's unemployment rate dipped slightly in August to 10.6 percent, down from 10.7 percent the previous month, the state reported Friday.

Kern County's unemployment rate fell to 12.8 percent from a revised 13.6 percent in July and below the year-ago estimate of 14 percent.

Bakersfield's unemployment rate was 8.9 percent in August.

The numbers from the Employment Development Department are an improvement over California's 11.9 percent unemployment rate a year ago and show the state's economy is continuing its slow recovery.

California has added 298,700 jobs since this time last year. The state added more than 12,000 nonfarm payroll jobs in August.

Six sectors grew, including construction, manufacturing, information, financial activities, educational and health services and leisure and hospitality. The biggest gains were seen in the educational and health services sector, which added 8,900 jobs.

Five industries shed jobs, including mining and logging, and transportation. The biggest losses in the government sector, which shrunk by 7,400 jobs.

The number of people unemployed in California fell by 27,000 from July to 1,935,000.

A forecast released this week projected that employment in the state would pick up slowly in the coming year, with the unemployment rate dropping to 8.5 percent in 2014.

The UCLA Anderson Forecast predicted unemployment will remain in the double digits through 2013, though California's tech boom has been helping the state outperform the nation in job creation since 2010.

The national unemployment rate in August was 8.1 percent. California's jobless rate remains the third-highest in the nation, behind Nevada and Rhode Island.

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KBAK/KBFX Eyewitness News in Bakersfield contributed to this report.

Source: http://southeast.bakersfieldnow.com/news/news/74333-unemployment-rate-dips-kern-co-california

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