((Joblessd rate up at the end of the year)....The latest numbers available are for December.

They were released Friday morning by the Labor Market Information Division of the Employment Development Department. According to the report, December unemployment in Impeial County was estimated at 17.7 percnt. That is up from a revised 16.2 percent in November, and above the year ago estimate of 17%. This compares with an unadjusted unemployment rate of 8.8% for the state and 6.5 percent for the nation during the same period. Imperial County, again, has the highest unemployment rate in California. During the month of December there were 11,900 eligible workers unemployed out of a labor force of 67,100.