With gains throughout most sectors of the regionaleconomy last month, Riverside County’s unemployment rate dropped below 7%,according to figures released Friday, Oct. 22, by the California Employment DevelopmentDepartment.The jobless rate in September, based on preliminary EDD estimates, was6.6%, compared to 7.6% in August.The September rate was exactly four percentage points lower than the year-ago level, when countywide unemployment stood at 10.6%, amid the publichealth lockdowns.About 73,400 residents were recorded as out of work last month, and1,041,500 were employed, according to EDD.Coachella had the highest unemployment rate countywide in September at14.4%, followed by Mecca at 10.4%, Desert Hot Springs and Winchester eachat 9.8%, East Hemet at 9.5% and Highgrove
