Contra Costa County Unemployment Rate Drops

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 Friday 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.

San Francisco saw a decrease from 5.9 to 5.6 percent, and 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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