California unemployment hits 12.2 percent

SACRAMENTO, Sept. 18 (UPI) -- California officials said the Golden State lost 12,300 jobs in August, a sharp decline from July, but still enough to push unemployment to a postwar record.

Despite the slowing rate of job losses, the unemployment rate for the state reached a postwar high of 12.2 percent in August, The Los Angeles Times reported Friday.

That puts California fourth on the nation's list of high jobless rates behind Michigan, where unemployment is 15.2 percent, Nevada with unemployment at 13.2 percent and Rhode Island at 12.8 percent.

"These job losses would have been twice as bad but for growth in electronics exports and government-related employment," said Philip Romero, dean of the College of Business and Economics at Cal State Los Angeles.

While construction and manufacturing lost jobs in the month, information, education and healthcare and government added jobs, the Times said.

"Most people who look at this both in California and nationally expect that the unemployment rate hasn't peaked yet -- it's likely to get higher and stay higher for several more quarters," said Jed Kolko, associate director of research at the Public Policy Institute of California.