Unemployment rates fell in the Bay Area and in California as a whole in August, according to a report released Friday by state employment
officials.

California's unemployment rate dropped to 10.6 percent in August, according to the California Employment Development Department.

That rate is down from 10.7 percent in July and from 11.9 percent in August 2011, but remains higher than the U.S. unemployment rate of 8.1
percent.

In the Bay Area, unemployment rates also dropped across the board.

Marin County, which usually has the lowest jobless rate in the state, was down to 6.3 percent, a drop from 6.7 percent in July.

Solano County, which typically has the highest unemployment rate in the Bay Area, dropped to 10 percent in August, down from 10.3 percent in
July.

Elsewhere in the Bay Area, San Francisco saw a decrease from 7.6 percent in July to 7.4 percent in August. Alameda County hit 9.3 percent and
Santa Clara County was at 8.5 percent.

The state's unemployment rate is derived from a federal survey of 5,500 households around California.

— Bay City News Service

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