State jobless rate rises to 12.5% California's unemployment rate increases in October from September's rate of 12.2%, giving the Golden State the fourth-highest rate in the country. Still, the state gained 25,700 jobs last month.
By Alana Semuels, LA Times, 11/20/09
California's unemployment rate rose again in October, once more setting a new post-World War II high, even as the state added jobs, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said this morning.
The state's unemployment rate of 12.5% was just a slight increase from September's rate of 12.2%, and gives California the fourth-highest jobless rate in the country, after Michigan, Nevada and Rhode Island.
Still, not all signs are negative. The state gained 25,700 jobs in October, reversing a trend that's seen California lose 687,700 jobs over the year. It is the first time the state has added jobs since April 2008.
The pace of job loss has been slowing this fall: In September, the state lost 39,300 jobs; in February it lost 116,000.
California's unemployment rate in October 2008 was 8.0%.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics also reported that the number of mass layoff events in October decreased by 434 from the previous month to 2,127.
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