Little good news in job report

California’s unemployment rate remained steady at 12.4 percent in December, labor figures released today show, but the good news ends there.

Another 38,800 jobs disappeared last month, bringing the state’s total job losses to half a million for the year. Analysts said the unemployment rate stayed steady because the newly jobless were balanced out by more than 100,000 who gave up looking for work.

Nationally, the unemployment rate rose in 43 states last month, a sharp and disappointing reversal from November. Then, 36 states had reported lower unemployment, raising hopes that a recovering economy was on the way to creating more jobs.

The Bay Area is faring better than the state. Marin at 7.8 percent and San Mateo at 8.6 percent sport the lowest employment rates among California counties. Joblessness in the rest of the inner Bay Area counties are also significantly lower than the state as a whole: San Francisco, 9.4 percent; Alameda, 10.9 percent; and Contra Costa, 11.0 percent

• Contact Us
• Request Information
• Join Our Mailing List
• Print This Page
• E-mail to a Friend