Unemployment rates drop throughout Valley – Unemployment rates fell in all eight counties in the San Joaquin Valley in September, according to data released by the California Employment Development Department.  Here are the September rates, followed in parentheses by the August 2016 and September 2015 rates:

Fresno – 8.3 percent (8.7, 8.3)

Kern – 9.2 percent  (9.7, 8.7)

Kings – 8.3 percent (8.9, 8.2)

Madera – 7.7 percent (8.2, 8.3)

Merced – 8.2 percent (9.2, 8.3)

San Joaquin – 7.5 percent (7.7, 7.6)

Stanislaus – 7.5 percent (7.9, 7.9)

Tulare – 10.2 percent (10.6, 10.0)