As of September 2014, San Luis Obispo County’s unemployment rate has dropped a full percentage point each year since 2012 – from 7.4 percent in September 2012 to 6.4 percent in September 2013 and again to 5.4 percent this year. Nationwide unemployment fell to 5.9 percent while California saw a drop to 7.3 percent according to the California Employment Development Department. The jobless rate is currently at its lowest since May 2008 when it was 5.1 percent. Unemployment for the county peaked during the recession at 10.5 percent in January 2010.