August Unemployment Rates Released -- September 18, 2003 -- California Capitol Hill Bulletin -- Volume 10, Bulletin 26

On September 12, 2003, the California Employment Development Department (EDD) released its monthly statewide unemployment statistics, indicating that the unemployment rate was 6.6% in August, 0.1 percentage point down from the 6.7% mark in July. The August 2003 rate was a bit lower than it was during the same period last year, when the state's jobless rate was at 6.7%. According to the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation, California has fared somewhat better than the U.S., as the nation's unemployment rate increased from 5.8% to 6.1% in August 2003.

Regionally, Southern California's 5-county (Los Angeles, Riverside, Ventura, Orange, and San Bernardino) unemployment rate was 6.2% in August, below last year's reading of 6.3%. In the Bay Area, the jobless rate in San Francisco (which includes Marin and San Mateo) was 5.6%, down from July's 6.0% rate. Similarly, Oakland's unemployment rate (which includes Alameda and Contra Costa counties) declined from 6.7% in July to a current rate of 6.2%, and Santa Clara had an unemployment rate of 7.9%, down from 8.5% in July.

For additional information on California's employment market, please visit California's Employment Development Department website: http://www.edd.ca.gov .

To expand communications between Washington and California, the California Institute provides periodic bulletins regarding current activity on Capitol Hill that directly impacts our state. Bulletins are published weekly during sessions of Congress, and occasionally during other periods.

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