March 20, 2009 -- The combined unemployment rate for Santa Clara and San Benito counties in February hit double digits —10.0 percent — for the first time in almost two decades, as the recession began taking a bigger bite out of the tech economy.

It was the highest unemployment rate since at least 1990, when the state started tracking the data with its current system, and the highest number of unemployed at 92,800. The valley lost 26,300 jobs, or 2.9 percent, in the past 12 months, according to the Employment Development Department, which released the figures today.