The unemployment rate in Stanislaus County fell again, posting a new low for the area not seen in recent years.

The May unrevised unemployment rate came in at 7 percent, according to the Employment Development Data. The rate is below the revised rate of 7.8 percent in April and below the year-ago estimate of 8.1 percent.

The decline in the area's unemployment was largely driven by a significant increase in farming jobs, according to the EDD. For the month of May farming positions increased by an estimated 3,000 positions and is up from the year-ago numbers by approximately 1,000 positions.

The manufacturing sector also posted increases in jobs for the month of May, with an estimated 900 new positions. A majority of those positions are in food manufacturing, an area that is up by approximately 12.9 percent for the year, according to the EDD's data.

Other sectors that posted job growth for the month of May were: Leisure and Hospitality (300); Educational and Health Services (300); and Mining, Logging and Construction (200). Those three sectors also have rates above the year-ago numbers.

The sectors that saw job declines for the month were: Government (400); professional and Business Services (100); and Trade, Transportation, and Utilities (100). The decline in Government jobs was primarily from local school districts, which typically see layoffs at the end of the school year and gains in jobs when the school year begins again.

Stanislaus County had a labor force of approximately 244,000 people in May, with an estimated 17,100 unemployed.

California had a May unemployment rate of 4.2 percent, while the nation's was at 4.1 percent for the same time frame.

Ceres had an unemployment rate of 7.5 percent in May, down from the 8.4 percent in April. Hughson had a May rate of 10.2 percent, which was a decline from the 11.4 percent posted in April. Keyes had a rate of 11.5 percent in May, which was a drop from the 12.8 percent posted in April. Turlock's unemployment rate dropped to 6.3 percent in May, down from 7 percent in April. Denair's rate was at 4.2 percent for the month, down from 4.7 percent in April.

The occupations with the most help wanted ads in Stanislaus County for May were: Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers - 549; Registered Nurses - 525; Retail Salespersons - 180; Maintenance and Repair Workers - 132; First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers - 120; Customer Service Representatives - 93; First-Line Supervisors of Production and Operating Workers - 92; Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners - 88; Security Guards - 81; and Critical Care Nurses - 75.

The 10 companies that posted the most help wanted ads for May in Stanislaus County were: Tenet Healthcare Corporation - 405; Sutter Health - 111; Ceres Unified School District - 111; Robert Half International - 100; E&J Gallo - 99; Modesto City Schools - 86; Soliant - 62; Kaiser Permanente - 61; Turlock Unified School District - 58; and Supplemental Health Care - 54.