June 20, 2008

Jobless rate takes another jump

California's deteriorating economy is demonstrated anew by a sharp jump in the state's unemployment rate to 6.8 percent in May.

The Department of Employment says 60,000 fewer Californians held jobs last month than in April, and 18,000 fewer than in May 2007. Unemployment, meanwhile, hit 1.3 million, up by 300,000 from May 2007.

Steve Levy, who runs the Center for the Continuing Study of the California Economy in Palo Alto, notes that the 6.8 percent unemployment rate is the highest since November 2003, during the meltdown of the dot-com industry. But, Levy says, the job losses from the current downturn are substantially less than during the recessions than began in 1990 and 2001.

The full monthly unemployment report is available here.

Posted by Dan Walters on June 20, 2008 11:18 AM