Calif. Unemployment Rate Climbs To 12 Percent
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) -- California's unemployment numbers jumped to 12% today, another sign the tattered economy is in trouble.
In California, one out of every 8 adults is out of work – and when it comes to job creation, several California cities -– including Sacramento -- rank near the very bottom of the list.
Andrea Normadin has been looking six months for clerical work.
"I have not gotten any interviews yet," Normadin told CBS 13. She added, "I'm going to have to start maybe going in - hey did you get my resume - be a little more creative."
But it will take more than creativity for older applicants like Mel Peeples.
"I've been searching for work since December of last year," Peeples said. He told CBS 13, "I've had numerous interviews and every interview that I've gone to - people are basically looking for younger people."
Between June and July, California saw a decrease of 62,000 jobs – with one sector of the economy taking the biggest hit.
"And that is government," said Loree Levy of the Economic Development Department.
"Government has truly been the biggest weakness in the economy for about a year now. And over the month, we lost 5,800 jobs in government," Levy told CBS 13.
And that's troubling news for the greater Sacramento region where government jobs comprise roughly one-fourth of the workforce.
But across the country, Boston set up an Innovation District to attract high-tech jobs.
Boston is now the top job market in the country, according to the recent job survey.
By contrast, Sacramento ranked 92nd, while three other Central Valley cities – Modesto, Stockton and Fresno are on the bottom of the list.
One bright spot – the tech sector in Silicon Valley is a very competitive job market. California is hoping to create green jobs – highlighting renewable energy.
"We've seen about 300 to 400 thousand jobs in the state of California," said Lt. Governor Gavin Newsom. "They're growing, from a percentage population they're growing higher than almost any place in the economy."
The bottom line is, California must diversify to compete. Two million people are now unemployed in the Golden State – about one-third of them have been out of work for a year or more.
