La Mesa Jobless Rate Dips to 8.5 Percent, Equal Lowest in East County

La Mesa got good news on the jobs front this week when the state reported city unemployment fell to 8.5 percent in August.

That was down from an adjusted jobless rate of 8.9 percent in July, according to the Employment Development Department.

The state says 2,900 La Mesans—out of a work force of 34,000—were jobless in August.

La Mesa and Santee shared the same unemployment rate of 8.5 percent for August—the lowest in East County.  The highest was El Cajon at 13.8 percent. Casa de Oro/Mount Helix posted a 9.6 percent jobless rate.

Countywide, the lowest jobless rate was 5.0 percent in Valley Center, and the highest was 19.3 percent in National City.

The unemployment rate in San Diego County was 10.2 percent in August, down from the 10.6 percent in July and lower than the 10.7 percent recorded in the same period in 2010, the state Employment Development Department reported Friday.

The numbers are not seasonally adjusted.

California's jobless rate was 11.9 percent in August, down from 12.4 percent in July and also lower than the 12.5 percent recorded in August of last year, according to the state agency. The rate in the United States was 9.1 percent, or 0.2 percent lower than the previous month.

Total nonfarm employment increased by 200 jobs in San Diego County between July and August to reach more than 1.2 million, led by an increase of 3,400 leisure and hospitality employees, according to state data.

By comparison, local education districts lopped 2,000 jobs off their payrolls last month.

The number of San Diego-area residents who were unemployed last month was 159,600, down by 7,300—out of a countywide labor force of almost 1.6 million.

The decrease in the unemployment rate in August came after two straight months in which the figure went up, according to the state.

City News Service contributed to this report.