Photo of unemployed man by Flickr user jronaldlee used under Creative Commons attribution license

The latest unemployment figures are out.

California released its jobless report today for the month of February. Have a gander at the West County numbers:

• Crockett: 21.4 percent
• El Cerrito: 9.8 percent
• Hercules: 7.9 percent
• Kensington: 4 percent
• Pinole: 7.7 percent
• Richmond: 17.6 percent
• Rodeo: 15.7 percent
• San Pablo: 21.5 percent

For some context, Contra Costa County’s unemployment rate is 11 percent. Statewide, it’s 12.2 percent. The numbers really haven’t changed all that much from 2010, although there have been some gains in the job market. Here’s hoping they will in 2011.

I’m eyeballing the report and there are cities in other counties including Fresno, Merced and Tulare counties with staggering unemployment rates approaching or exceeding the 40 percent mark. Yikes.