California Jobless Rate Increases To 8.7 Percent

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — State officials say California's unemployment rate increased slightly to 8.7 percent in July.

The Employment Development Department announced Friday that the rate increased two-tenths of a percentage point, up from 8.5 percent in June.

California's rate continues to exceed the nation as a whole. The U.S. unemployment rate dropped slightly to 7.4 percent for July.

Some 1.6 million Californians remained unemployed in July. That is up 29,000 over June, but down by 328,000 compared with July of last year.

In July 2012, the unemployment rate was 10.6 percent.

California added more than 38,000 nonfarm payroll jobs in July despite the increase in the jobless rate.

Unemployment in the state dropped below 9 percent this spring for the first time in five years, when it fell to 8.6 percent in May.