SAN DIEGO - The unemployment rate in San Diego County was 10.5 percent last month, up from a revised 10.4 percent in September, and well above the 6.7 percent jobless rate from a year ago, a state agency reported today.
Between September and October, the San Diego region added 8,100 jobs, primarily in the government and education sectors, according to the EDD.
California's unemployment rate rose to 12.5 percentin October to set another modern record, even though more than 25,000Californians found jobs, the state Employment Development Departmentreported Friday.
October's job gains followed 66,000 job losses the month before.
StephenLevy, senior economist at the Palo Alto-based Center for ContinuingStudy of the California Economy, said larger job gains are needed tolower the unemployment rate.
"The best we can say is that likethe nation, the magnitude of job losses seem to be declining," Levysaid. "This is not a sign that the jobs losses have ended."
Thestate has lost 687,700 jobs since October 2008, a decline of about 4.6percent, according to the state's survey of 42,000 Californiabusinesses.
Nearly 2.3 million Californians were without work inOctober. The number does not include the nearly 500,000 workers whohave taken low-paying or part-time jobs because that's all they couldfind, or the 109,000 people who have given up looking for work,according to the state.
Job declines have been across theeconomy, including construction, manufacturing, mining, logging, trade,transportation and utilities. Information, financial services,professional and business services, educational and health services,leisure and hospitality and government gained 48,600 jobs.
TheU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said Friday that California was one of29 states reporting unemployment rate increases. Only three states —Michigan, Nevada and Rhode Island — had higher rates than Californialast month.
The rate is slightly higher than September, whenofficials reported a jobless rate of 12.2 percent. The state revisedthe number to 12.3 percent. It was 8 percent a year ago.
The national unemployment rate rose to 10.2 percent in October.
Thehardest-hit county in California was Imperial, along the border withMexico, with an unemployment rate of 30 percent not adjusted forseasonal changes in hiring. That was followed by Alpine, Trinity andYuba counties.
