It's still not exactly a good number, but Humboldt County's unemployment level dropped half a point last month to 10.8 percent. We did it by adding 600 industry jobs for the second straight month, according to data compiled by Dennis Mullins, a research analyst with the Labor Market Information Division in Eureka.

The most growth occurred in manufacturing, government and leisure & hospitality, each of which added roughly 200 jobs. Humboldt improved from 18th to 16th in the county rankings statewide (out of 58 total). With the exception of Mendocino County, which has a nearly identical figure (10.6 percent), our neighbors aren't doing so hot. Del Norte County has 12.8 percent unemployment; Siskiyou is at 16.4; Trinity is a whopping 17.9; and Shasta is 14.7.

Meanwhile, California as a whole lost more than 29,000 jobs last month and now has the second-highest unemployment rate in the country (11.7 percent) -- behind only Nevada (12.1).