County's jobless rate falls below 9 percent

RIVERSIDE - With gains in both the public and private sectors, Riverside County's unemployment last month dropped below 9 percent.

The county's jobless rate in September, based on preliminary estimates, was 8.6 percent, according to the California Employment Development Department. The rate was six-tenths of a percentage point lower than in August and nearly two percentage points below the year-ago level of 10.3 percent, data showed.

According to the government's figures, the countywide civilian labor force numbered 956,300, with 82,100 people out of work last month.

The unincorporated community of Cabazon had the highest unemployment rate countywide, at 22.3 percent, followed by Mecca at 17.7 percent and Homeland at 17.3 percent, according to the EDD.

The combined unemployment rate for Riverside and San Bernardino counties in September was 8.2 percent.

Bi-county data indicated payrolls expanded in the public sector, retail trade, manufacturing, and health services, which altogether added 9,500 jobs. Miscellaneous unclassified industries and the farm sector boosted employment by another 700 jobs, figures showed.

Payrolls contracted in the construction, information services, financial services, business services and leisure and hospitality sectors, which shed a total 5,500 positions in September, according to the EDD.

The state's non-seasonally-adjusted jobless rate in September was 6.9 percent, the EDD said.