Calif. Jobless Rate Dips Slightly, But Housing Recovery Sluggish
LOS ANGELES (CBS) — Amid all the rain pounding the Southland this week, there's a ray of sunshine in the Golden State's latest unemployment forecast.
KNX 1070's Pete Demetriou reports the jobless rate dipped by .2 percent statewide — and even more locally.
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After 96,500 jobs were created in February — with roughly half of the job increases coming nationally — California's unemployment rate slid to 12.2 percent.
The Los Angeles/Long Beach region saw an even bigger drop to 12.6 percent, down from 12.9 percent in January.
Brad Kemp, a top employment expert at L.A.- based Beacon Economics tells KNX 1070 that despite the modest gains, it's not all good news when it comes to a local recovery in the housing market.
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"I don't think we're really going to see construction turn the corner anytime soon...the declining sector's are going to continue to be construction and government," said Kemp.
Analysts also say that even with the decrease in joblessness, it will still take several years before the state is back to the pre-2008 unemployment levels.
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