Yuba-Sutter unemployment remains high
California's unemployment rate fell slightly in October, but Yuba and Sutter counties are still behind the state's average.
The state reported jobless numbers at 11.7 percent in October, down slightly from 11.9 percent a month earlier. California added nearly 26,000 jobs in areas including professional and business services, education and health services, the state Employment Development Department said Friday.
In Yuba County, the jobless rate is at 17.2 percent. Sutter County is at 16.4, making both areas among the highest for unemployment numbers in California.
In September, Yuba County's unemployment rate was at 18.1 percent; Sutter County's was reported at 15.4 percent.
The numbers released Friday for the Yuba-Sutter area are not seasonally adjusted, so they do not reflect typical job losses in the agriculture industry. This could explain the rise in Sutter County's unemployment rate, as hundreds of jobs are eliminated after the harvest.
California's unemployment rate has hovered around 12 percent for months and has been stuck above 11 percent since 2009. The state's jobless rate is the second highest in the nation, behind Nevada, which had a rate of 13.4 percent in September, the most recent data available.
The national unemployment rate also dropped slightly to 9 percent in October.
About 495,000 people continue to receive unemployment insurance benefits in California, and nearly 69,000 new claims were received in October, the Employment Development Department said.
