Sonoma County Unemployment Rate Hits Low Mark

Sonoma County's unemployment rate fell again in March, reaching its lowest level in at least two years, according to data released earlier this month by the state Employment Development Department.

The county's unemployment rate dropped to 7.3 percent last month, down from 7.6 percent in February. The jobless figure also was markedly better than March 2012, when 9.4 percent of the labor force was looking for work.

The city of Sonoma's unemployment rate, reported at 6 percent last month, was better than the county average.

Glen Ellen, north of the city of Sonoma, reported the lowest unemployment rate in the county at 4.7 percent. Unemployment rates pushed into the double digits in some rural areas. The city with the highest jobless rate was Cloverdale, at 11.2 percent.

Between February and March, employment in Sonoma County grew by 700 jobs to reach 178,000, according to the EDD.

The growth includes:

• 300 jobs in the leisure and hospitality sector
• 200 new business and professional services jobs
• modest increases in education, health services, construction and government work

However, about 100 manufacturing jobs were lost during that time period, according to the EDD.

Here is the city-by-city breakdown for Patch towns in Sonoma County.

# of People Unemployed in February

Sonoma County's unemployment rate was better than both California and 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.