Merced County's unemployment rate dropped slightly last month, to 15.7 percent, according to data released Friday by the state's Employment Development Department.
That figure is down from August's 16.6 percent, but still far higher than the year-ago county jobless rate, which was 10.9 percent.
This year's local unemployment peak was 20.2 percent in March.
Joblessness remains far higher in Merced compared with many other parts of the state and nation.
Unemployment hit 12.2 percent across California in September. Only three California counties reported higher jobless rates than Merced last month: Imperial, Yuba and Trinity.
Earlier this summer the state's unemployment figure hit its highest level in decades; it dipped slightly last month.
Nationally, unemployment stood at 9.5 percent in September. Like subprime loans, job losses have become a leading driver behind home foreclosures, according to analysts.
Merced's jobless rate rose steadily between September 2008 and this April. Since then it's slowly been falling, even though many local employers are still cutting back.
Most of the jobs gained locally in September were in the government and farming sectors, the Employment Development Department data show.
The highest unemployment rate ever recorded in Merced County was 21.7 percent in February 1996.
For information on how to file for unemployment benefits, go to www.edd.ca.gov.
Reporter Corinne Reilly can be reached at (209)385-2477 or creilly@mercedsun-star.com.
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