California's Jobless Rate Increases As More Enter Workforce
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com/AP) — State officials say California's unemployment rate rose slightly in July as more people entered the workforce.
The California Employment Development Department said Friday that the rate rose one-tenth of a percentage point, to 5.5 percent.
It says 36,400 new nonfarm payroll jobs were created last month. Sectors that added jobs included trade, transportation, utilities, education, health services, manufacturing and construction.
That followed a gain of 33,200 jobs in June, revised downward from the 40,300 previously reported.
California's unemployment rate still lags the national unemployment rate of 4.9 percent. More than 1 million people remained unemployed.
California has gained 2.3 million jobs since the economic recovery began in 2010. The unemployment rate was 6.1 percent last July.
Closer to home, numbers were better in Los Angeles County, where the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 4.8 percent in July, down from a revised 4.9 percent in June. In Orange County, the unemployment rate was up slightly at 4.6 percent from 4.4 percent in June.
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