Amador County – New unemployment statistics reflect the dire effect the nationwide economic recession has had on the Mother Lode region. The California Employment Development Department Thursday released its latest numbers for the month of December 2008. In Amador County, the civilian unemployment rate rose to 9.3 percent, up .8 percent from November. That number is .2 percent higher than the statewide unemployment rate of 9.1 percent and over 2 percent higher than the national rate of 7.1 percent. The number of unemployed in Amador County is 1,730 out of a total civilian labor force population of 18,620. The statistics reveal a steady and consistent rise in the unemployment rate from 7.5 percent in January 2008. That number dipped temporarily to 7 percent in April but quickly bounced back up towards its current level. These are the highest unemployment numbers since the nation’s last big recession in the early 90s at the end of the elder George Bush’s administration. Of the individual cities within the county, Sutter Creek’s unemployment rate was disproportionately higher than larger cities at 11.2 percent. Jackson and Ione followed at 8.1 percent and 6.8 percent, respectively. One Development Department representative said there is no information available to explain why Sutter Creek currently has higher unemployment rates. In neighboring Calaveras County, the unemployment rate was 10.8 percent, and in Tuolumne County it was 9.7 percent. All these numbers are higher than statewide averages. Marin County has the lowest rate in the state at 5.4 percent, while Imperial County in southern California registered the highest at 22.6 percent. Story by Alex Lane