California Unemployment Rate Above 10 Percent

Sacramento, CA — California’s unemployment rate jumped to 10.1 percent in January, the state’s first double-digit jobless reading in a quarter-century.

The jobless rate announced Friday by the state Employment Development Department represents an increase from the revised figure of 8.7 percent in December.

A year ago, California’s unemployment rate was 6.1 percent. Since then, steep declines in the construction, finance and retail industries have put thousands out of work.

The number of people without jobs in California soared to more than 1.8 million, up 754,000 over January 2008. Stephen Levy, senior economist for the Palo Alto-based Center for Continuing Study of the California Economy, says the last time California unemployment topped 10 percent was June 1983.