Seasonal hiring in education, along with jobs gains in many corporate sectors, helped push the county’s unemployment rate in October to its lowest level since May 2009.
Employers here added 13,200 jobs from September to October, putting the unemployment rate at 9.1%, down from a revised 9.6% in September and 9.8% a year earlier.
Employment rose 1.5% to 1.37 million nonfarm workers in October, according to the state Employment Development Department.
Job gains were recorded in government, education, manufacturing, health services, professional and business services, leisure and hospitality, trade, transportation and utilities and financial services.
Local government added 7,200 jobs as teachers returned to school after summer recess.
Corporate hiring reversed its September losses, as the key professional and business services segment added 3,000 jobs from a month earlier.
Trade, transportation and utilities sector also showed strong gains, adding 1,600 jobs. Nearly two-thirds of that growth was attributed to the wholesale trade division.
These gains overshadowed losses in construction, which shed 800 jobs, and the information sector, which lost 200 jobs.
On a yearly basis, the county gained jobs at a smaller clip.
Employers here in October added 14,200 jobs, a 1% gain from a year earlier. That marked the fourth month of consecutive yearly gains.
Professional and business services posted the largest yearly growth, adding 9,600 jobs. Nearly 60% of the gain was in administrative and support services, up 6,200 jobs.
These often were the first eliminated by companies when the downturn began in late 2007.
Leisure and hospitality had the second largest yearly gain with the addition of 7,800 jobs.
Restaurants and bars led those gains adding 5,200 jobs, a continuing sign consumers are spending some discretionary income and not staying home.
Construction reported the largest decline of 5,300 jobs. The specialty trade segment was down 2,800 jobs, while builders shed 2,500 jobs.
Heavy and civil engineering were flat over the year.
