Foreclosure filings in Los Angeles County fell 10 percent in October from the previous month, an Irvine-based research firm said Thursday. However, the slowdown is mostly because of legislation that has sought to slow the foreclosure process.

One in every 325 homes in the county, 3,313 in total, were in foreclosure last month, said RealtyTrac, which tracks default notices, auction sale notices and bank repossessions. That rate is still 13 percent higher than a year earlier.

Foreclosures in Orange County were down 34 percent month-over-month with one in 348 homes in foreclosure. In Ventura County, the rate was down 35 percent, with one in 328 homes in foreclosure.

RealtyTrac Chief Executive James Saccacio said new laws requiring delays in the foreclosure process have reduced the volume of foreclosure filings in several states. In California, lenders are now required to contact borrowers at least 30 days before filing a default notice.

Among states, California had the highest total number of foreclosures in October. But the rate was down 18 percent from September, with one in every 231 homes in the foreclosure process.

Saccacio warned that the apparent slowing of foreclosure activity understates the severity of the state’s foreclosure problem as the U.S. economy falters.

The U.S. jobless rate last month rose to 6.5 percent — the highest since 1994, and the Labor Department said Thursday that the number of newly laid-off individuals seeking unemployment benefits jumped last week to a level not seen since just after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in 2001.

In addition, home prices have fallen every month since January 2007, according to the S & P;/Case-Shiller home-price index,

“While the intention behind this legislation , to prevent more foreclosures , is admirable, without a more integrated approach that includes significant loan modifications, the net effect may be merely delaying inevitable foreclosures,” Saccacio said in a statement.

Nationally, foreclosures rose by 5 percent month-to-month to 279,561 in October. Three states , Nevada, Arizona, Florida , had the nation’s top foreclosure rates. In Nevada, one in every 74 homes received a foreclosure filing last month.