Unemployment Rate Drops

Sacramento, CA — The Mother Lode unemployment rate falls sharply.  After remaining the same for the past two months, Tuolumne County’s unemployment rate dipped from 9.8% to 8.4%.  Calaveras County showed the biggest change dropping from 10.1% to 8.6%.

California’s unemployment rate has fallen below 8 percent for the first time in nearly six years, a sign that the state’s economy has rebounded from the recession.

The state Economic Development Department said Friday that California’s jobless rate for April was 7.8 percent. It was last at that level in September 2008, when the rate was 7.9 percent.

Nonfarm payrolls increased by more than 56,000 jobs in April, led by the health care and education sectors.

In all, California has added more than 1.3 million jobs since the national recession ended in February 2010 according to state officials.