California Unemployment surges to 8.2% in October

California unemployment jumps to 8.2%, third-highest in the U.S.

The state's unemployment rate is the highest in 14 years; it rose half a percentage point in October from the month earlier. In the past 12 months, more than 100,000 jobs have been lost.

By Marc Lifsher and Tiffany Hsu
November 22, 2008

Reporting from Los Angeles and Sacramento -- California's unemployment rate soared to a 14-year high in October, hitting 8.2%, and economists predicted that it could rise substantially over the next year and a half.

The state's economy shed 26,400 people from its payroll last month, raising the total number of lost jobs to 101,300 since October 2007, the California Employment Development Department reported Friday.

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