SLO County jobless rate drops in August

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• Number of unemployed in San Luis Obispo county up

  Number of unemployed in San Luis Obispo county up

  The loss of 5,600 jobs countywide in July sent San Luis Obispo County’s unemployment rate back into the double digits, rising to 10.5 percent from June’s revised 9.9 percent, according to state data.

  Most of those losses were government jobs. That sector shed 5,100 jobs in July compared to June, according to the state Employment Development Department.

  But year over year, there were 1,900 fewer government jobs in San Luis Obispo County in July compared to the same month in 2010.

• Unemployment rate drops a bit

  Unemployment rate drops a bit

  Growth in government jobs, construction, and professional and management positions helped offset losses in other sectors of San Luis Obispo County employment during the third quarter, according to data from the state and a firm that tracks the local economy.

  State and local government — the largest category in the local jobs market — added a seasonally adjusted 1,000 jobs during September alone, according to Los Angeles-based Beacon Economics.

  That sector added 2,200 workers since a July trough, growing 12.5 percent to roughly 19,800 workers locally.

• Employment in San Luis Obispo County growing, though slowly

  Employment in San Luis Obispo County growing, though slowly

  Employment in San Luis Obispo County has continued its slow growth into the fourth quarter of the year, even as the local unemployment rate ticked up slightly, according to state data.

  The number of jobs grew for the third straight month, with about 100 nonfarm positions added for a seasonally adjusted 96,700 in October, according to the California Employment Development Department.

  That’s about a 3 percent recovery — about 2,800 positions — from when the number of local jobs in July plunged to a seasonally adjusted 93,900. Employment in the past decade peaked locally in June 2007 at 104,600 nonfarm jobs — about 8.2 percent higher than October’s level — according to state data.

• Slow jobs growth persists in county

  Slow jobs growth persists in county

  Employment in San Luis Obispo County has continued its slow growth into the fourth quarter of the year, even as the local unemployment rate ticked up slightly, according to state data.

  The number of jobs grew for the third straight month, with about 100 nonfarm positions added for a seasonally adjusted 96,700 in October, according to the California Employment Development Department.

  That’s about a 3 percent recovery — about 2,800 positions — from July, when the number of local jobs plunged to a seasonally adjusted 93,900. Employment in the past decade peaked locally in June 2007 at 104,600 nonfarm jobs — about 8.2 percent higher than October’s level — according to state data.

• Home sales surge as prices slip

  Home sales surge as prices slip

  A second straight month of surging home sales in San Luis Obispo County during August continued a break in the downward trend of year-over-year growth of earlier this year, according to figures from San Diego-based real-estate tracking firm DataQuick.

  This took place as the median home sales price posted its third straight double-digit drop from 2010 figures. That continues a home sale price decline that started in January, broken only by an increase of less than a percent year-over-year in April.

  Home sales overall grew 43 percent locally in August compared with the same month a year ago, according to DataQuick. There were 306 homes sold countywide last month, 92 more than in August 2010.