California Tied With Rhode Island For Highest Unemployment in Nation

Credit Valley Public Radio

California now has one of the highest unemployment rates in the nation. As Amy Quinton reports from Sacramento, the latest figures from the California Employment Development Department show no improvement in the state’s jobless rate for January.

California’s unemployment rate remained at 9.8 percent in January. That ties the state with Rhode Island for the highest unemployment rate in the country. 

The monthly unemployment rate last year was 11 percent. The jobless rate is derived from a federal survey of households. But a larger survey of businesses found that only 1,700  jobs were added in January.

The Employment Development Department also released revised unemployment figures for 2012, showing a 2.3 percent job gain. That’s 100,000 more than the preliminary estimate.

The largest gains in January came in the leisure and hospitality sector. The federal, state, and local government sectors saw the largest job losses.