Politics & Government
Los Gatos' Jobless Rate Declines a Tad
Santa Clara County has the seventh-lowest unemployment rate in the state.
Santa Clara County's unemployment rate fell again in March, dropping to its lowest mark in at least the past two years, according to data released Friday by the state Employment Development Department.
The county's unemployment rate was at 7.1 percent last month, down from 7.4 percent in February.
In Santa Clara County, all cities also reported a slight improvement in the jobless rate from February to March. Los Gatos saw a bit of a decline in unemployment, reporting 4.7 percent in March. The unemployment rate was 4.8 percent in February.
Find out what's happening in Los Gatoswith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Saratoga and Los Altos reported the lowest unemployment rates at 3.6 percent. The worst was Gilroy, at 10.8 percent.
Between February and March, combined employment in South Bay counties of San Benito and Santa Clara grew by 5,200 jobs to reach 926,800, according to the EDD.
Find out what's happening in Los Gatoswith free, real-time updates from Patch.
The growth includes:
- a gain of 2,100 professional and business posiitons, most of which were in administrative and support services
- 900 new construction jobs
- increases in public and private school jobs
However, government trimmed 800 jobs over the past year. Repair and maintenance work also dropped by 200 positions, according to the EDD.
Here is the city-by-city breakdown for Patch towns in Santa Clara County.
Santa Clara County Unemployment Data Area Unemployment Rate-March Unemployment Rate-February # of People Employed in March# of People Unemployed in February
6.1% 6.3% 22,300 1,500 Cupertino 4.6% 4.8% 24,500 1,200 Gilroy 10.8% 11.2% 19,600 2,400 Los Altos
3.6% 3.7% 13,000 500 Los Gatos
4.7% 4.8% 15,500 800 Milpitas
7.4% 7.6% 31,000 2,500 Mountain View
5.3% 5.4% 42,100 2,300 Palo Alto
3.8% 3.9% 32,100 1,300 Saratoga 3.6% 3.7% 13,700 500
Santa Clara County's unemployment rate also was better than those for California or the nation, which were 9.4 percent and 7.6 percent, respectively.
The unemployment rate is derived from a federal survey of 5,500 California households.
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
