Manteca’s jobless rate inched up slightly in October.

There means 3,700 people are unemployed in Manteca. It is the same as two months ago when the jobless rate was 13.4 percent in August for Manteca compared to 13.5 percent for October.  The static hold on the number of people looking for work and the slight uptick in the jobless rate reflects the net result of a number of different factors.

It encompasses people who have either retired or taken themsleves out of the job hunt as well as those who have found jobs and who have lost them. The end result was a zero change in the actual number of people looking for jobs while the percentage of unemployment increased a tenth of a percent.

On the flipside, Manteca’s unemployment rate is below 14 percent for the third straight month. It’s been 52 consecutive months since the unemployment rate in Manteca was below 10 percent. From 1996 to 2006, Manteca’s jobless rate hovered between 6.5 and 7.5 percent.

The state Economic Development Department jobs numbers released Friday shows 23,600 Manteca residents with jobs.

The unemployment rate in San Joaquin County was unchanged at 15.5 percent for both September and October. During the same time frame, California’s unemployment slipped a half of a percent dropping to 11.3 percent in October.  The 15.5 percent unemployment rate means 46,000 people out of 296,300 folks in the labor force countywide are unemployed.  That’s the equivalent of the combined population of Ripon, Lathrop, and Escalon.

Government as well as the trade and transportation employment categories each grew by 700 jobs as the big bright spots for October.

Local education added 700 jobs and the state 100 jobs in San Joaquin County. The county cut 100 jobs while special districts and cities remained steady.

There were modest gains elsewhere but the loss of 3,900 farm jobs wiped them out.

Narrowing employment tracking showed the biggest gain for employment in the county during October was in retail clothing sales. That category saw 300 jobs added to bring the total to 2,300 reflecting a 15 percent increase in jobs. Department stores and well as general merchandise stores added 900 jobs.

The jobless rate in October for Ripon was 10.9, in Lathrop it was at 12.6 percent, in Escalon it was at 14.3 percent, in Tracy it was at 9.7 percent, in Stockton it was 18.7 percent, and in Lodi it was at 11.8 percent.