California jobless rate hit 7.7 percent in August

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On the Web | The Economy in Turmoil

Shane Goldmacher | Sacramento Bee

Unemployment in California continues to climb, as the percentage of the state workforce not working rose three-tenths of a point from July to August.

California is now tied for the third highest unemployment rate in the nation, with Mississippi, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Only Rhode Island (8.5 percent) and Michigan (8.9 percent) are worse.

The rate in California climbed to 7.7 percent in August. Only a year ago, the state's unemployment rate was 5.5 percent.

The county with the worst unemployment is Imperial, with a whooping 24.7 percent of the workforce not working. The only county in the state with unemployment below 5 percent is Marin, one of the state's wealthiest enclaves.

Sacramento County clocks in with the state average, 7.7 percent.

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