For the second consecutive month, state and county unemployment rates have dipped, according to preliminary data provided by the State of California Employment Development Department (EDD).

Per the department, California’s unemployment rate dropped from 4.8% in April to 4.5% in May. Locally, Stanislaus and Merced county each saw over 2,500 positions filled. In Stanislaus County, the rate dropped from 7.1% to 6.2% in a month’s time. There remains approximately 15,300 people in the county without work. Over in Merced County, the rate dropped from 10.6% to 8.7%, translating to roughly 10,500 still unemployed.

The rise in hires is an outlier to other parts of the county, as the national unemployment rate rose from 3.5% to 3.7% in May.

The farming industry had by far the biggest impact in each county. There were over 2,000 hires in the agriculture industry in Stanislaus County while Merced County saw 2,600. 

Also helping the cause in Stanislaus were the addition of 300 leisure and hospitality jobs, presumably to complement the summer traveling season. Additionally, there were about 200 local education jobs added and another 200 jobs filled in the transportation, warehousing and utilities sector.

The state and local government in Merced County added 400 workers last month, as well.

The EDDs report states that the city of Turlock still has roughly 1,600 residents without work. In Hughson, there are about 300. The towns of Denair, Hilmar and Keyes each have around 100 folks without jobs.

The most in-demand jobs in Stanislaus County are in the health care and social assistance fields, with there currently being over 1,100 positions open, according to the EDD online job posting database. The health care sector is the second-biggest hiring industry in Merced County with 277 current postings. There is also a large demand for retail workers in each county, with 784 openings in Stanislaus and another 220 in Merced. Merced County employers are also trying to fill 312 education jobs.