Valley unemployment rates stay steady –

Central Valley Business Times

Unemployment rates stayed steady throughout the eight-county San Joaquin Valley region in February and remained below year-ago rates, according to data released by the California Employment Development Department.  The jobless rates ranged from a low of 8.8 percent in San Joaquin County to a high of 12.6 percent in Merced County.  Here are the February 2016 rates, followed in parentheses by the January 2016 and February 2015 rates:

Fresno – 10.5 percent (10.5, 11.8)

Kern – 10.9 percent (10.8, 11.2)

Kings – 11.3 percent (11.3, 12.3)

Madera – 9.9 percent (10.2, 11.7)

Merced – 12.6 percent (12.6, 13.7)

San Joaquin – 8.8 percent (8.9, 10.1)

Stanislaus – 9.4 percent (9.4, 10.8)

Tulare – 12.1 percent (12.3, 13.3)