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California’s unemployment rate soars to 12.2 percent
SACRAMENTO September 18, 2009 9:04am 
• More than 12,000 lose their jobs in August • But Central Valley counties are flat or even decline California’s unemployment rate was 12.2 percent in August. Nonfarm payroll jobs declined by 12,300 from July’s total, according to data released Friday by the California Employment Development Department from two separate surveys.
The U.S. unemployment rate also increased in August, rising to 9.7 percent.
In July, the state’s unemployment rate was 11.9 percent, and in August 2008, the unemployment rate was 7.6 percent. The unemployment rate is derived from a federal survey of 5,500 California households.
In the Central Valley, unemployment rates either held close to July’s numbers or actually declined.
Here are the AUGUST 2009 Central Valley unemployment rates, followed by July’s, which are in parentheses. All are estimates:
• Butte County, 12.8 percent; (13.2 percent)
• Fresno County, 14.6 percent; (15.0 percent)
• Kern County, 14.3 percent; (14.4 percent)
• Kings County, 14.2 percent; (14.5 percent)
• Madera County, 13.3 percent; (13.9 percent)
• Merced County, 16.7 percent; (17.6 percent)
• Sacramento County, 12.3 percent; (12.0 percent)
• San Joaquin County, 15.7 percent; (16.0 percent)
• Stanislaus County, 15.8 percent; (16.3 percent)
• Tulare County, 15.2 percent; (15.3 percent)
• Yolo County 11.0 percent; (11.2 percent)
• Yuba County, 17.5 percent; (18.4 percent)
The highest unemployment rate in August was in Imperial County at 28.9 percent, an improvement from July’s 30.2 percent jobless rate. The lowest was in Marin County at 8.3 percent, essentially the same as July’s 8.2 percent.
Nonfarm jobs in California totaled 14,234,100 in August, a decrease of 12,300 over the month, according to a survey of businesses that is larger and less variable statistically. The survey of 42,000 California businesses measures jobs in the economy. The year-over-year change (August 2008 to August 2009) shows a decrease of 741,500 jobs (down 5.0 percent).
The federal survey of households, done with a smaller sample than the survey of employers, shows a decrease in the number of employed people. It estimates the number of Californians holding jobs in August was 16,143,000, a decrease of 116,000 from July, and down 895,000 from the employment total in August of last year.
The number of people unemployed in California was 2,248,000 – up by 49,000 over the month, and up by 851,000 compared with August of last year.
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