County's jobless figure is highest since 1995
By Dean Calbreath
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

November 22, 2008

With thousands of jobs disappearing in retail, finance and construction, unemployment in California and San Diego County last month rose to its highest point since the recession of the early 1990s.


Statewide, the unemployment rate hit 8.2 percent in October, according to data released yesterday by the state's Employment Development Department and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. That's up from 7.7 percent in September and 5.7 percent in October 2007.

That was the third-highest rate in the nation after Michigan and Rhode Island, which were tied at 9.3 percent. The national average was 6.5 percent.

More than 1.5 million Californians are now unemployed, putting strains on the state's unemployment insurance fund, which was created during the Great Depression.

The state government projects that if current trends continue, the unemployment fund will be $2.4 billion in the red by the end of 2009, which would force it to borrow from the federal government for the second time in its history.

“We've known for years that changes must be made to the fund to keep it solvent, and it is unfortunate that now, when we need it most, it is racing toward the red,â€