by Calculated Risk on 3/20/2009 12:52:00 PM

From the LA Times: California unemployment hits 10.5% in February

California's unemployment rate rose for the 11th straight month in February, hitting 10.5% as a recession-wracked economy shed 116,000 jobs across all professions and industries, the state reported today.

The number is up from 10.1% in January and is the highest since April 1983.

The unemployment rate in California peaked at 11% in the early '80s.

Here is the EDD report. Construction employment is off 18.5% from Feb '08 to Feb '09. This is over 155,000 construction jobs lost in California alone over the last 12 months.