California’s unemployment rate rose to 5.8 percent last month, although job growth was strong.
The Employment Development Department said Friday the unemployment rate grew a tenth of a percentage point despite a gain of 60,400 nonfarm payroll jobs. Payroll statistics and the unemployment rate are calculated from two separate surveys, and most economists say the payroll figures tend to be a more reliable indicator of the economy’s direction.
The December figures suggest the California economy continues to perform well despite suggestions of a slowdown in the global economy. Financial turmoil in China has hurt the stock market and the weakened global economy has already put a dent in California’s exports, for instance.
Sung Won Sohn, an economist at California State University, Channel Islands, said statewide tourism is also beginning to decline because of economic troubles in China, Latin America and Europe. He added that investors from Asia and Latin America have “stepped back” from buying California real estate.
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