California Unemployment Rate Inches Higher
SAN FRANCISCO (BCN/KCBS) - One in eight California residents was unemployed as of December, state officials said in a report released Friday.
The state's unemployment rate increased from 12.4% in November to 12.5% last month, according to the California Employment Development Department.
KCBS' Mike Colgan Reports:
The state's unemployment rate is well above the nation's rate, which decreased to 9.4% in December, the department said.
Marin County had the lowest unemployment rate in the Bay Area at 7.9%, while Solano County had the highest at 12.1%.
San Francisco's jobless rate was 9.2%, while Alameda and Santa Clara counties were at 10.8% and 10.4%, respectively.
The Employment Development Department estimated that the number of Californians holding jobs in December 2010 was 15,946,000, which was a decrease from November 2010 but an increase of 78,000 from the year before.
The unemployment rate is based on a federal survey of 5,500 California households and does not include agricultural jobs, which are handled by another department.
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