California Added Jobs in October, Could Be Poised to Break out of Slump

Though the state unemployment rate held steady at 12.4 percent, California managed to  add jobs in October and economists are optimistic things are improving in the Golden State

According to a report in the Los Angeles Times, a total of 39,000 jobs were added last month. Jobs increased along eight sectors, including government and leisure and hospitality. The Times notes the state, which has lost 27,400 over the last year, may be entering into a recovery period.

Dennis Meyers, principal economist with the state Department of Finance, expanded on the idea in a report by the Associated Press.

“We’re sort of bouncing along the bottom right now with signs there’s good things to come,” Meyers said.

Sectors reporting job losses included mining and logging and information and financial activities. The largest declines were in the financial industry, which lost 4,300 jobs.

Counties with elevated unemployment rates included Imperial County (29.3 percent) and Fresno County (15.7 percent). A total of 592,745 people were receiving unemployment benefits in October.