The unemployment rate in Stanislaus County rose slightly in June, but continues to fall below the 10 percent mark and under the year-ago estimates.
The June unemployment rate for the county was at 7.8 percent, up from a revised rate of 7 percent in May. The rate remains below the year-ago estimate of 8.8 percent, according to the latest numbers from the Employment Development Department.
The rise in unemployment for the month was largely spurred by temporary lay-offs at school districts in the county. Outside of the Farming and Government sector, which includes school districts, every other sector in Stanislaus County either reported job gains or stayed steady.
The sector leading the county in job growth was Manufacturing, particularly in food production. The sector added an estimated 500 positions. It's typical for the sector to add jobs during the summer months as various crops are shipped to the facilities for processing. Food processing jobs accounted for 5.7 percent of the job gains for the month.
The sunny days also helped the Construction sector, which added approximately 400 jobs for the month of June, according to the EDD.
Other sectors reporting job growth in June were: Financial Activities (200); Educational and Health Services (200); Professional and Business Services (100); and Leisure and Hospitality (100).
The Farming sector was down by an estimated 300 positions for the month, but remains above the year-ago rate of 2,100.
The Government sector was down by approximately 400 positions, with 3.2 percent of those jobs coming from local school districts, which typically lay-off some workers during the summer months.
The unemployment rate in Merced County for June was at 9.4 percent, up from a rate of 8.5 percent in May. San Joaquin County had an unemployment rate of 7.3 percent, up from 6.2 percent the month prior.
California had an unemployment rate of 4.9 percent, while the nation's was at 4.5 percent for the same time period.
Ceres had an unemployment rate of 8.4 percent in June, up from the 7.5 percent in May. Hughson had a June rate of 11.3 percent, which was an increase from the 10.2 percent posted in May. Keyes had a rate of 12.8 percent in June, which was a rise from the 11.5 percent posted in May. Turlock's unemployment rate rose to 7 percent in June, down from 6.3 percent in May. Denair's rate was at 4.7 percent for the month, up from 4.2 percent in May.
The occupations with the most help wanted ads in Stanislaus County for June were: Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers - 533; Registered Nurses - 525; Maintenance and Repair Workers - 160; Retail Salespersons - 158; First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers - 143; Security Guards - 101; Customer Service Representatives - 94; First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving - 92; Light Truck or Delivery Services Drivers - 83; and First-Line Supervisors of Production and Operating Workers - 81.
The 10 companies that posted the most help wanted ads for June in Stanislaus County were: Tenet Healthcare Corporation - 323; Sutter Health - 153; E&J Gallo - 100; Robert Half International - 86; Modesto City Schools - 83; Ceres Unified School District - 77; Turlock Unified School District - 62; Trustaff - 61; Soliant - 56; and Starbucks - 55.