North Bay economy showing signs of improvement, but concerns remain

Unemployment rates fell sharply in August in all North Bay counties — a welcome, if incomplete, marker of recovery for local economies straining to pull out of the pandemic-induced recession.

In Sonoma County, the rate fell to 7.7 percent, down from 10 percent in July, according to preliminary data released last month by the state Employment Development Department. Even more notably, the August rate is down more than half since April, when the jobless numbers hit a peak of 14.5 percent.