Marin's Jobless Rate Rises, Remains Lowest in California

Marin's unemployment rate rose in January, matching a trend throughout the Bay Area while the statewide rate went unchanged for the month, according to employment data released recently.

Although Marin continues to have the lowest unemployment rate in the Bay Area and throughout California, that rate jumped to 5.8 percent in January from 5.5 percent in December.

In Marin, Fairfax had the highest jobless rate at 9.9 percent, while Corte Madera had the lowest among Marin's towns and cities at 4,1 percent. Novato and San Rafael, home to Marin's largest employment hubs, had jobless rates of 6.9 percent and 7 percent, respectively.

The California unemployment rate remained unchanged from December at 9.8 percent. A year ago at this time, the jobless rate was at 11 percent, according to the California Employment Development Department.

In the Bay Area, the highest jobless rate was in Solano County at 10 percent in January.

Other counties saw unemployment rates rise, including San Francisco where December's 6.5 percent rate bumped up to 6.8 percent in January.

Nationwide, the unemployment rate in January was 7.9 percent.

Here's a city-by-city breakdown of the unemployment rates in Marin's towns and cities:

--Bay City News Service contributed to this report. Copyright © 2013 by Bay City News, Inc. -- Republication, Rebroadcast or any other Reuse without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited.

Stay Patched in! Follow Larkspur-Corte Madera Patch on Facebook and Twitter. Sign up for the daily newsletters.