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California’s unemployment rate has dropped to 8.7 percent over the past two months, while Sacramento unemployment has declined to levels not seen in five years, according to figures released today.

By the U-6 measure, California’s employment distress rate is 18.3 percent for the 12 months ending June 30, according to a new report by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. California’s rate is second only to Nevada’s 19 percent and four percentage points higher than the national rate of 14.3 percent.

Gov. Jerry Brown, whose pronouncements of California’s economic recovery have been criticized by Republicans who point out the state’s high poverty rate, said in a radio interview Wednesday that poverty and the large number of people looking for work are “really the flip side of California’s incredible attractiveness and prosperity.”

U.S. payrolls advanced by 204,000 jobs last month, the Labor Department said Friday, far exceeding economists’ forecast for a gain of 120,000. Readings for the prior two months were revised up by a total of 60,000, putting average job creation over the three-month span above a 200,000 pace, matching the strong gains recorded early in the year.

The number of people filing new jobless claims across the country dropped by 9,000 to 336,000, according to a weekly report from the U.S. Department of Labor. California saw a large drop in new claims.

Jobless claims decreased by 10,000 to 340,000 in the week ended Oct. 26 from 350,000 the prior period, the Labor Department reported today in Washington. The median forecast of 49 economists surveyed by Bloomberg called for a decrease to 338,000. California said no claims last week represented applications from prior weeks, a Labor Department spokesman said as the figures were released to the press.

Nearly 1 in 5 young people between ages 16 and 24 in the Inland Empire are neither working nor in school, the nation’s worst rate, according to a report released Tuesday.

U.S. employers added far fewer workers than expected in September, suggesting a loss of momentum in the economy that will likely add to the Federal Reserve’s caution in deciding when to trim its monthly bond purchases.

“Private-sector employment gains picked up slightly in September, as businesses added 166,000 jobs, according to a hiring report that has taken on more importance as a timely measure of the labor market amid the likely delay of the government’s monthly statistics.

Economists surveyed by Dow Jones expected the monthly report from payroll processor Automatic Data Processing Inc. ADP -0.19%and forecasting firm Moody’s Analytics to show an increase of 178,000 jobs. The August ADP employment increase was revised to 159,000 from 176,000 reported a month ago.”

“The economy in the city of Los Angeles grew at a faster rate than the nation last year, according to a report released by the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce Wednesday.

The report, prepared by Beacon Economics, a Los Angeles economic consulting firm, said the city of Los Angeles had a 3.8 percent increase in payroll jobs to about 1.5 million jobs last year, the sharpest increase since 2005 and nearly double the national rate.

… But the job growth was most concentrated in four of the city’s 15 council districts: just north of downtown, the Westside, west of downtown and the southeastern San Fernando Valley. Eight council districts saw little job growth, while three council districts saw job losses.”

“Americans unexpectedly filed fewer claims for unemployment benefits last week, highlighting labor-market gains that are shoring up consumer confidence.

Jobless claims dropped by 5,000 to 305,000 in the week ended Sept. 21, a Labor Department report showed today in Washington. The monthly average was the lowest since 2007. The Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index rose for the third straight week, another report showed. “

The Employment Development Department said today that statewide unemployment rose to 8.9 percent in August, up two-tenths of a point. But statewide payrolls grew by 29,100 – the second highest payroll growth in the nation.

Los Angeles County’s unemployment rate climbed back into double digits in August, reaching 10.1 percent, according to state figures released Friday.

“In many ways California’s economy these days resembles a Charles Dickens novel.

The state’s coastal areas are starting to resemble better times. Unemployment rates have plunged and housing prices have skyrocketed faster than anywhere in the country.

But inland areas can’t shake the worst of times. Unemployment remains in double digits. Central Valley farmers recently struggled through a bone-dry spring as state and federal authorities repeatedly cut their water deliveries. And incomes in the inland regions lag coastal parts of California.”

But the recovery has left many young people behind. The official unemployment rate for Americans under age 25 was 15.6% in August, down from a peak of nearly 20% in 2010 but still more than 2½ times the rate for those 25 and older—a gap that has widened during the recovery. Moreover, the unemployment rate ignores the hundreds of thousands of young people who have taken shelter from the weak job market by going to college, enrolling in training programs or otherwise sitting on the sidelines. Add them back in, and the unemployment rate for Americans under 25 would be over 20%. Even those lucky enough to be employed are often struggling. Little more than half are working full time—compared with about 80% of the population at large—and 12% earn minimum wage or less. The median weekly wage for young workers has fallen more than 5% since 2007, after adjusting for inflation; for those 25 and older, wages have stayed roughly flat.