Thanks to the start of the new school year, L.A. got a slight reprieve in its job picture in September as the unemployment rate dropped to 7.8 percent from 7.9 percent in August and 29,000 payroll jobs were created, mostly in the education sector.

But the figures released Friday morning from the state Employment Development Department show that the overall jobs picture remains bleak as unemployment is still nearly at the highest point in 12 years.

The county has also hemorrhaged 23,600 non-farm payroll jobs or 0.6 percent over the past year. The biggest losses have occurred in retail (down 11,600 jobs) and construction (9,900 jobs).

L.A. County’s jobless rate is still higher than the statewide average of 7.7 percent, and much higher than the national rate of 6.1 percent.