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| By Marc Lifsher and Nathan Olivarez-Giles January 24, 2009 The December level, up from 8.4% in November, is the highest in 15 years, highlighting the severity of the economic slowdown. The jobless rate in Los Angeles County was 9.5%. Reporting from Sacramento -- California's unemployment rate jumped to 9.3% in December, highlighting the severity of the economic slowdown as the state heads into a second year of recession. The December level was the highest in 15 years. Unemployment in Los Angeles County in December was 9.5%. The state Employment Development Department today reported that the December jobless rate was up almost a full percentage point from 8.4% in November. Last month's national unemployment was 7.2%, compared with 6.7% in November. The last time the state jobless number hit 9.3% was January 1994. The new data reflected lackluster holiday sales, continued home value declines and a heightened tempo of layoffs at companies across all sectors of the economy. Link to Article |