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The News in Brief

Unemployment drops in Sept., remains high

NORTH BAY – Contrary to what the economy might suggest, jobless rates dropped in every county last month, according to numbers released by the state Economic Development Department. Year-over-year estimates, however, are still much higher.

Sonoma County’s unemployment rate, measured by the number of people actively seeking jobs, was 5.8 percent in September, down from the previous month’s estimate of 6.1 percent. The year-ago rate was 4.4 percent.

The number of available jobs decreased for the first time in several months year over year, though several industry sectors still made large gains.

Napa unemployment decreased slightly, moving to 5.2 percent in September from 5.3 percent the previous month, but was still above the year-ago estimate of 3.9 percent. The number of jobs decreased for the third month in a row year over year, but at a slower rate. The county lost just 100 jobs compared with 400 lost in August.

Unemployment in Marin County was 4.7 percent last month, down from 4.9 percent the previous month. Industry-specific numbers are not available for Marin.

Solano County lost the most jobs in the North Bay for the fifth consecutive month, losing about 2,500 total jobs year over year. Unemployment decreased for the first time since April, hitting 7.3 percent, down from 7.4. Solano reported unemployment rates of about 5.4 percent in September last year.

The state average unemployment dropped to 7.5 percent last month from 7.6, and the national average fell to 6 percent from 6.1 percent.

Top real estate projects selected for 13 awards

NORTH BAY – The Business Journal will honor 13 North Bay real estate projects and the key industry players who made them possible at its third-annual 2008 Top Projects Awards gala reception.

Awards will be given in the following categories to these outstanding projects: Colgan Meadows, Santa Rosa, apartments; Santa Rosa Junior College Petaluma Campus, Petaluma, education; Florence Lofts, Sebastopol, green; Cavallo Point Lodge, Sausalito, historic restoration; Westin Verasa, Napa, hospitality; Hanna Court Industrial Warehouse, American Canyon, industrial; Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital Center East Wing Addition & Heart Institute, Santa Rosa, medical; Main Street West, Napa, mixed use; Disney Hamilton Landing hangar, Novato, office; Hamilton Marketplace, Novato, retail; Varenna at Fountaingrove, Santa Rosa, senior living communities; Celsius 44, Petaluma, residential; Silver Oak Cellars, Oakville, winery.

The projects were selected by the Business Journal editorial staff from nominations submitted by architects, engineers, commercial real estate brokers and other professionals over the past several months.

This year several very high-quality nominations made it difficult to choose only one winner in some categories. Five projects that should not go without recognition will also be mentioned as notable projects at the event.

Those projects are: Sonoma Academy, Santa Rosa, education; Charles Krug winery, St. Helena, historic restoration; Cameron Wine Storage, Napa, industrial; Geyser Arts Gallery, Geyserville, mixed use; Trione Winery, Geyserville, winery.

The reception will be held at the Sheraton Sonoma County in Petaluma from 5:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $65 per person or $700 for a table of 10, including the company name on the table. To register, contact Linda Perkins at 707-521-5264 or events@busjrnl.com by Dec. 5.