After an encouraging couple of months in the local job market, the unemployment rate has returned to double-digit figures in Mariposa County. The Employment Development Department (EDD) reported last week that 11.4 percent of Mariposa County workers are out of a job.

The new data follows an increase in October, as well. The unemployment rate that month was 9.9 percent. In September, it was at 8.8 percent, the lowest figure in months.

The figures show that 1,090 of Mariposa County’s 9,620 person workforce were unemployed in November.

California’s unemployment rate remained nearly steady at 12.2 percent last month. When this year began, it was about 10 percent. That number is double what it was just two years ago.

Joblessness peaked locally at more than 13 percent last March. The latest figures, while lower than that, still represent a rate two percent higher than last year at the same time.

Unemployment is more than double what it was in Mariposa County two years ago. In 2007, the rate was 4.8 percent.

Neighboring Merced County is being hit hard again by job loss. That county’s unemployment rate climbed to 18.3 percent in November, after experiencing a decline from its peak of 20 percent. The summer months brought a brighter picture to Merced County, but loss of seasonal agriculture jobs is taking its toll.