(Latest Unemployment Report released)...The report is for December.

The Report was released by the Labor Market Information Division of the Employment Development Department. Imerial County unemployment last month was reported at 18.3 %. That is down slightly from the November unemployment rate of 18.9%. It was above the year ago estimate of 15.2 percent. This compares to an unadjusted unemployment rate of 5.1% for California and 3.5% for the nation during the same period. The report indicates in December their were 13,500 eligible workers unemployed out of a labor force of 74,000. Imperial County ended the year with the highest unemployment rate in the state.