🚀 go-pugleaf

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/19/us/19calif.html?hpw

LOS ANGELES � California�s unemployment rate in August hit its 
highest point in nearly 70 years, starkly underscoring how the 
nation�s incipient economic recovery continues to elude millions 
of Americans looking for work.

While job losses continue to fall, the state�s new unemployment 
rate � 12.2 percent, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics 
� is far above the national average of 9.7 percent and places 
California, the nation�s most-populous state, fourth behind 
Michigan, Nevada and Rhode Island. Statistics kept by the state 
show California�s unemployment rate was 14.7 percent in 1940, 
said Kevin Callori, a spokesman for the California Employment 
Development Department.While California has convulsed under the 
same blows as the rest of the country over the last two years, 
its exposure to both the foreclosure crisis and the slowdown in 
construction � an industry that has fueled growth in much of the 
state over the last decade � has been outsized.

Total building levels in California have fallen to $23 billion 
this year from $63 billion in 2005; home building this year is 
less than a quarter of what it was in 2005, according to the 
Center for Continuing Study of the California Economy. Roughly 
500,000 of the state�s job losses have been in construction, 
finance, real estate and industries related to construction.

�We were at the epicenter of the housing bubble, and we are at 
the epicenter of the fallout,� said Stephen Levy, senior 
economist and director of the center. �The reason we are doing 
worse in California than other states is construction.�

While California has enjoyed some signs of a comeback in recent 
months, unemployment, which is often the last economic indicator 
to turn around in a protracted recession, is expected to remain 
high for the near future. For example, a recent study by the 
University of California, Los Angeles, predicted that while the 
state would enjoy 2 percent quarterly growth in 2010, the 
unemployment rate would remain above 10 percent.

Such numbers have caused deep pain to a state overly reliant on 
personal income taxes to balance its budget. The near collapse 
of the stock market, which greatly reduced personal wealth in 
the state, and job losses related to the housing bust combined 
to sharply reduce that source of revenue.

In July, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a budget that closed 
a roughly $24 billion two-year gap with extensive cuts to social 
services, parks and education. This has left the state with 
large numbers of people without jobs seeking government 
services, which further strained its resources and hindered 
potential consumer spending among laid off and furloughed 
government workers.

The governor seized on California�s grim unemployment milestone 
Friday to make a case for his current pet projects: revising the 
state�s tax system, fixing its broken water system, which has 
contributed to unemployment in the state�s farm regions, and 
tapping the federal government for all he can get.

�The latest unemployment numbers reinforce the importance of 
combining federal, state and local efforts to put Californians 
back to work and to help all those struggling in this difficult 
economy,� Mr. Schwarzenegger said. �Immediately addressing our 
challenges, which include reforming the state�s antiquated tax 
structure and updating our water delivery system will move the 
state forward and build a stronger, more diverse economy. While 
I am pleased to see fewer jobs lost, my administration will not 
rest until job growth resumes and employment returns to normal.�

Earlier this week, Ben S. Bernanke, the Federal Reserve 
chairman, proclaimed that the country was emerging from its 
protracted recession, and doubtlessly, California is showing its 
own signs of recovery. In Southern California, the center of the 
housing bust, home sales rose 11 percent in August from a year 
earlier, and prices have begun to tick up as well. In addition, 
the state�s exports are once again growing as international 
economics, particularly in Asia, have begun to recover and 
create demand for goods, and layoffs have slowed statewide.

�Any economist would tell you we�re in a recovery,� Mr. Levy 
said. �Job losses are lessening, the G.D.P. is rising, the 
housing market is stabilizing, and have you looked at the stock 
market lately? But the unemployment rate is the thing families 
care about. They don�t care about G.D.P. or China coming back; 
they care about jobs.�


They damned sure don't care about Obama and the democrats who 
caused this entire fraudulent mess.