County’s Jobless Rate Falls in February

RIVERSIDE (CNS) - Riverside County's jobless rate fell by more than half a percentage point in February, with gains across multiple sectors of the regional economy, according to figures released today by the California Employment Development Department. The unemployment rate last month, based on preliminary estimates, was 8%, compared to 8.6% in January, the EDD reported. The February rate was four percentage points higher than the year-ago level, when countywide unemployment stood at exactly 4%. About 90,000 residents were out of work last month, and 1,032,200 were employed, according to the EDD. Coachella had the highest unemployment rate countywide at 13.8%, followed by Mecca at 12.6%, Winchester at 11.8%; Desert Hot Springs at 11.7%, and the unincorporated community of East Hemet at