(Unemployment down slightly to begin the year)....The Jobless rate for January has been released.

The Labor Market Information Division of the Employment Development Department iss ued the latest report available. According to the report, the unemployment rate for Imperial County in January was at 17.8 percent. That is down from the revised 18.1 percent issued for December, but above the estimated 16.3% released last year. This compares with an unadjusted unemployment rate of 5.7% for California and 4.1 percent for the nation during the same period. According to the report there were 13,300 eligible workers unemployed in January out of a labor force of 75,000.