BAKERSFIELD, Calif. — Kern County added more than 12,000 jobs to the local economy in March compared to the same time last year.
Half of the 12,400 jobs added from last year were in farming, with another 2,600 added to the Educational & Health Services industry.
Despite the gains, the current unemployment rate in the county is up to 10.1%. That's up from 9.3% in February and 9.1% in January. The current rate is also above last March's 10.0% mark.
Kern County's unemployment percentage ranks 49th out of 58 counties in the state. The lowest rate is in San Mateo where just 2.4% of its 463,600 eligible workers are unemployed.
Colusa County (eligible workforce 11,400) has the worst unemployment rate at 20.6%.
The California unemployment rate is now at 4.6% and the national rate sits at 4.9%.
