Unemployment rates drop throughout Valley – Unemployment rates fell throughout the eight-county San Joaquin Valley region in April, according to data released by the California Employment Development Department. Here are April’s unemployment numbers, followed in parentheses by the March 2016 and April 2015 rates:

Fresno – 9.7 percent (10.6, 10.4)

Kern – 10.6 percent (11.6, 10.6)

Kings –10 percent (11.3, 10.8)

Madera – 9.7 percent (10.5, 10.9)

Merced – 11.2 percent (12.4, 11.9)

San Joaquin – 8.1 percent (8.8, 8.9)

Stanislaus – 9 percent (9.5, 9.9)

Tulare – 10.8 percent (12.4, 11.4)