BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) -- The unemployment rate in August for Kern County was 8.5%, marking over a 1% drop in the unemployment rate since June, according to the latest report published by the state’s Employment Development Department.

Preliminary data shows the number of unemployed individuals in the county went from 39,600 to 36,000 between July and August. This indicates a 9.1% decrease in Kern’s unemployed population.

However, the unemployment numbers this August is about 2% higher than the numbers for the previous year around this time, according to the report.

California and the U.S. also saw decreasing rates of unemployment since July, though their changes weren’t as steep as Kern County's, the data shows. The unemployment rate for the state went from 6.1% in July to 5.8% in A

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