Valley unemployment rates --- Here are the unemployment rates for the six-county San Joaquin Valley for August, followed in parentheses by the July 2016 and August 2015 rates, according to data released by the California Employment Development Department:

Fresno – 8.7 percent (9.3, 9.0)

Kern – 9.7 percent (10.5, 9.2)

Kings – 8.9 percent (9.6, 8.9)

Madera – 8.3 percent (9.4, 9.2)

Merced – 9.3 percent (10.4, 9.5)

San Joaquin – 7.8 percent (8.4, 8.1)

Stanislaus – 8.0 percent (8.9, 8.4)

Tulare – 10.7 percent (11.2, 10.7)

Central Valley Business Times