Unemployment in Kern County dipped half a percent in September, continuing a downward trend since peeking in March. The rate was 13.9 percent, down from 14.4 percent in August, but still well above the 9.1 percent year-ago figure.
The statewide rate was 12 percent in September, and 9.5 nationally.
In Kern, government added 2,500 jobs in September, according to figures from the California Employment Development Department. That means about 58,500 Kern residents now work in the government sector.
The gains there offset a loss of 400 jobs in farming, according to stats. A hundred jobs were lost in each of the categories that include oilfield work, construction and transportation.
In all, about 52,300 of Kern’s 377,400 workers were unemployed, according to the EDD.
The countywide unemployment rate of 13.9 percent is an average of all areas.
In Bakersfield, the rate was 9.7 percent.
In Arvin, the rate was 34.8 percent. In Delano, it was 34.1 percent.
Other areas included McFarland, 27.8 percent; Mojave, 17.1 percent; Ridgecrest, 8 percent; Shafter, 23.9 percent; Taft, 13.4 percent; Tehachapi, 9.3 percent, and Wasco, 24.9 percent.
