August proved to be a strong month for the labor markets at each the local, statewide and national levels, according to preliminary data provided on Friday by the State of California Employment Development Department (EDD).
Stanislaus County — with a labor force that grew by about 700 people to 261,400 — saw its unemployment rate drop from 7.8% in July to an even 7% in August. Those figures translate to a decrease of 2,200 people without work, down to 18,200.
Merced County also saw a drop in its unemployment rate, falling from 10.4% in July to 9.4% in August, translating to 11,500 currently without jobs — a drop of 1,600…