Unemployment Rate Inches Up

Santa Barbara County’s unemployment rate inched up in July to 6.7 percent from a revised 6.3 percent in June. In real numbers, 3,900 jobs were lost, over two-thirds of them in government. Looking at the past year, the numbers are still positive. Since last July, unemployment has shrunk 1.7 percent, as the county added 3,200 jobs. The big winners were professional and business services as well as service providers and private service providers.