Some grim economic news out today from the federal government about the number of Americans out of work. The federal data shows the unemployment rate continues to rise despite reports from some experts that the recovery from this dreaded recession is underway.
The California jobless rate rose from 11.9% to a record high of 12.2% in August, according to the U.S. Bureau of Statistics. The golden state is not so bright for more than 12,000 of its workers who lost their jobs last month and thousands of job seekers who were looking and didn’t find work.
In Michigan unemployment jumped to 15.2%, the highest in the country. Nationally, the unemployment rate creeped up from 9.4% to 9.7%. Here locally, in the Los Angeles/Long Beach/Glendale area, the rate hit 12.3%. A radio announcer reacted to the new stats today by saying, “If you’re unemployed, the rate is 100%.” Grim, but true.