Jobless Rate Holds Steady In Mother Lode

Sonora, CA — The unemployment rate remains unchanged for the state and in Tuolumne and Calaveras counties.

The California Employment Development Department reported Friday that California’s October jobless rate held at 5.5 percent for the fourth month in a row.

Tuolumne County’s rate remained at 5.8% last month for a second straight month. Calaveras County followed suit with holding steady at 5.5 percent.

Sectors that added jobs last month in the state were leisure, hospitality, health services and education. Manufacturing posted the largest decline losing 3,500 jobs. The department reports California employers added 31,200 nonfarm payroll jobs last month, for a total of more than 2.4 million since expansion began in February 2010.

The U.S. unemployment rate dipped 0.1 percentage point last month to 4.9 percent, and employers nationwide added 161,000 nonfarm payroll jobs.