State's Unemployment Rate Shows Little Change in July

By Bay City News Service  

Unemployment rates changed little in California and in the Bay Area in July, according to a report released today by state employment officials.

California's unemployment rate hovered at 10.7 percent in July for the second month in a row, according to the California Employment Development Department. That rate is lower than the 11.9 percent rate seen in the state a year ago, but higher than the U.S. rate of 8.3 percent.

Marin County, which maintains the lowest jobless rate in the state, saw a small increase for the second month in a row, from 6.6 percent in June to 6.7 percent in July. Meanwhile Solano County, which has the highest unemployment rate in the Bay Area, saw a small decrease, from 10.5 percent in June to 10.3 percent in July.         

Elsewhere in the Bay Area, San Francisco saw a slight decrease, from 7.8 percent in June to 7.6 percent in July. Alameda County was at 9.5 percent and Santa Clara County at 8.7 percent in July.

The state's unemployment rate is derived from a federal survey of 5,500 households around California.