nat'l unemployment at 9.7%; 8 ca metro areas 15%+

The Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics made it official today: June 2009 national unemployment was 9.7%. California's June rate was 11.6%, a large increase over the June 2008 rate of 7.0%.

In total, there were eight California metropolitan areas with unemployment rates higher than 15%:

1. El Centro: 27.5%
2. Yuba City: 18.0%
3. Merced: 17.6%
4. Modesto: 16.6%
5. Stockton: 15.5%
6. Hanford-Corcoran: 15.3%
6. Redding: 15.3%
8. Fresno: 15.2%

Note that the official unemployment number is for non-farm jobs, so the true impact on the many Central Valley metropolitan areas hardest hit isn't completely clear from these numbers alone.

The major metropolitan areas did slightly better than the state as a whole, though still not great. The Los Angeles metro region without Orange County had an unemployment rate of 11.4%, and Orange County had a rate of 9.2%. San Francisco and neighboring counties to the south had a rate of 9.2%, while East Bay counties had a rate of 11.1%.