San Luis Obispo, CA -- A jump in state education and leisure and hospitality jobs helped lower the San Luis Obispo County unemployment rate in August. The local jobless rate was 9.7 percent in August, according to the California Employment Development Department. The same month a year ago it was 10.3 percent. The Tribune reports, there were 500 more people working in San Luis Obispo County last month compared to August 2010, which is a half of a percent gain year-over-year. Meanwhile, the San Luis Obispo County labor force grew by nearly 1,500 from the same month a year ago, suggesting that more people locally are reporting that they are looking for work.