California Unemployment Rate Hits 10.5%

The state unemployment rate hit 10.5% in February, the highest since 1983. Some 1.95 million Californians are searching for work.

The state’s highest rate ever was 11% in late 1982.

Employers cut 116,000 payroll jobs statewide in February.

Payroll employment has shrunk 4% since February 2008, with nearly 606,000 jobs vanishing.