Job Picture Brighter

Sacramento, CA — California’s unemployment rate dropped and Tuolumne and Calaveras Counties follow that trend. The State’s Employment Development Department reports California’s unemployment rate fell from 9% to 8.6% in May. That marked the first time in nearly five years the jobless number has dipped below 9 percent. Roughly 1.6 million Californians remain unemployed, down 364,000 from May 2012. California also has seen the largest drop in unemployment among the states over the past 12 months.

Tuolumne County’s rate dipped to 8.7% in May compared to 9.5% in April. Calaveras County’s rate dropped from 10.5% in April to 9.6% in May.

Statewide, categories that added jobs include leisure and hospitality, manufacturing, utilities, financial services, and transportation. Leisure and hospitality posted the largest increase over the month, adding 9,000 jobs. Areas that declined included mining and logging, construction, information and other services. Information had the largest decrease over the month, down 15,100 jobs.