Across the nation, workers face the highest rate of unemployment since the Depression, but in Cambridge, officials say they are optimistic about the availability of jobs.

George Kenrick, supervisor of the state-funded Cambridge Job Insurance Office, said yesterday that the recession seriously affected only "pockets" of the local population.

While the national level of unemployment this week reached a high of 10.4 percent, the rate has dropped steadily in Cambridge from 9.2 percent in July to 7.2 percent by early October.

Many local residents seek employment opportunities through the Cambridge branch of the Division of Employment Security, located in Central Square.

The service essentially matches employers and employees, said office supervisor Robert Anderson. Anderson said that because of the generally tight job market, applicants "have to widen their choices as much as possible."

John V. Vercel, a Cambridge resident who was looking for an office-type job through the matching service yesterday, said that at least some local businesses "are a little more conducive to hiring people looking for work."

Other applicants agreed that finding a job is not that difficult, but locating a position well-suited to an individual's qualifications is much harder.