The October report, published by the State of California Employment Development Department, says that the unemployment rate in the region dropped ever so slightly to 4.1% in September from 4.2% in August. It is a welcome sign after unemployment crept up in the early part of the summer, reaching a high of 4.4% in July. The September labor force consisted of 1,481,000 people, the report says, adding that 1,419,100 workers were employed and 61,900 people were out of work.

Although the employment level here seems to be improving, San Diego's rank in the state did slip another notch to No. 10 which means that nine other regions in California have a lower unemployment rate than this county. However, San Diego has once again reported a lower level of unemployment than the statewide average. The state's overall unemployment rate is 6.1%, which is two whole percentage points higher than San Diego County's unemployment rate for September.