After two straight months of falling unemployment rates across the region and state, numbers are back on the rise, according to recent data from California Employment Development Department (EDD).

In June, Stanislaus County’s rate went from 6.2% to 7.1%, meaning roughly 17,400 people were without work – an increase of about 2,100. 

The statistics are a stark contrast to April and May, months that posted falling unemployment rates across the board. Prior to those two months, unemployment rates had increased for five consecutive months.

About 1,800 of those people without work in Stanislaus County during the month of June were from Ceres, according to the EDD. That equates to an 8.2 percent unemployment rate in Ceres.

Hughson had a 10 percent unemployment rate, or about 300 people without work. 

The towns of Keyes and Denair each reported around 100 individuals without employment.

The Bystrum area of South Modesto has the highest jobless rate at 13.4 percent.

The industry in Stanislaus County with the most job loss in June was the local government education sector, which let go of 400 workers. The healthcare and social assistance and the administrative support sectors each lost 100 workers in the month. The loss of 100 health care and social assistance workers is a bit unusual considering that there are more than 1,700 online job postings for careers in those fields. 

Aside from health care and social assistance jobs, there is also a high demand for retail workers, as there are currently 710 postings in Stanislaus County. The same goes for manufacturing jobs, as there are 553 openings in Stanislaus. 

Those on the hunt for a job can find resources at www.edd.ca.gov/en/jobs.

In June, the national unemployment rate rose from 3.7% in May to 4.3% in June, while the rate increased from 4.6% to 5.3% in California.

–Jeff Benziger contributed to this report.