California Unemployment Increases Again

California’s unemployment rate has risen from 11.9 percent in May to 12.3 percent in June, according to the California Employment Development Department.

The net loss of 27,600 jobs in June represents the first consecutive monthly decline California has sustained this year. Fortunately the decline was mostly due to the government cutting 28,900 workers, the bulk of which were temporary 2010 census positions.

“The large battleship we call the California economy is, like the nation’s economy, taking a long time to turn around,” said Steve Levy, head of the Center for the Continuing Study of the California Economy in Palo Alto. “June was another month where private sector job levels remained in neutral and disappointing.”