State - The Sacramento-area unemployment rate has jumped to 10.8 percent, according to data released last Friday by California’s Employment Development Department. That’s a loss of 4,000 jobs in the Sacramento metro area during the month of February, most of which occurred in the retail sector. This latest round of job losses has now pushed unemployment to another record high since 1990, up from 10.4 percent in January. The biggest decline came in nonfarm payroll positions, where 116,000 jobs were lost. Statistics released in late January 2009 by California State University, Sacramento, estimate that the jobless rate in Amador County will rise significantly. The annual average Unemployment Rate for Amador County in 2008 was 7.7 percent, up from the 2007 rate of 5.9 percent. The forecast for 2009, based on actual data through December, 2008, is a two percentage point increase to 9.8 percent. According to different data from the Employment Development Department, Amador County suffers from an 11.9 percent unemployment rate, accounting for 2,180 people out of work in February 2009. The total estimated Amador labor force is approximately 18,370. State government officials are warning that the tempo of layoffs is also speeding up. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger said he is depending on the success of national policies to boost employment and stabilize housing and banking. The good economic news, according to economist and Asian trade expert Sung Won Sohn at Cal State Channel Islands, is the assurance of federal aid from the Obama stimulus package and the Federal Reserve's move this week to ease credit. California’s employers led the nation in mass layoffs in February as the state's unemployment rate hit 10.5 percent, the highest level since April 1983. Big corporations, which must file mandatory government reports every time they lay off at least 50 people, gave pink slips to 45,557 Californians last month. Last month's national rate was 8.1%. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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