INLAND EMPIRE – (INT) – Unemployment for the 2-county inland region has dropped into single-digits for the first time since late 2008.

The April rate of 9.6 percent was the lowest in 4-and-a-half-years.

The State Department of Employment said Friday that just under 173,000 people were looking for work last month which was the fewest since the fall of 2008.

During the past 12-months, the Inland Empire added 18,400 jobs. Forty-one percent were in the wholesale trades. Leisure and hospitality boosted payrolls by 5,900 jobs.

Overall job growth for the 12-month period was 1.6 percent.

Story Date: May 21, 2013