Merced County jobless rate up in July

The unemployment rate in Merced County climbed a few tenths of a percentage point in July, but at 10.8 percent it remains more than a point lower than the same time last year, the Employment Development Department reported Friday.

Job growth in the county, particularly in manufacturing, has pushed the unemployment rate down much of the year, but a loss of about 4,400 government jobs raised the unemployment rate by four-tenths of a percentage point from June’s revised rate of 10.4 percent.

Across the state, counties tend to see an increase in July because many school workers aren’t employed during the summer, according to Steven Gutierrez, a labor market analyst with EDD.

July’s rate is the lowest the county has seen for this time of year since 2007.

Last year, the rate was 12.4 percent, 1.6 percent higher than in July, according to the numbers. About 1,000 more people in Merced County were employed in July compared to last year.

The labor force also shrank in July. The number of people employed or looking for work fell by 3,900 to 112,300 from June to July.

Unemployment rates fell in 24 U.S. states last month.

California added the most jobs in July, gaining 80,700, followed by Texas, with 31,400, and Florida, with 30,500.

Jobless rates rose in 14 states and were unchanged in 12. Employers added jobs in 34 states and cut them in 16.

This story will be updated.

This story was originally published August 21, 2015 at 12:09 PM with the headline "Merced County jobless rate up in July."