County unemployment jumps

The state unemployment rate improved in June, but San Luis Obispo County didn’t fare as well, according to data released by the state Employment Development Department.

The July 16 report shows California’s unemployment rate dropping slightly to 12.3 percent. However, SLO County had a tougher month, losing 600 jobs between May and June, increasing unemployment to 10 percent. That’s up from 9.6 percent in May. Of a labor force of 137,900, 124,200 workers had jobs in June.

The county unemployment rate is now higher than the national average of 9.5 percent. Unemployment data from the study came from a federal survey of 5,500 California households.

This article appears in Jul 22-29, 2010.