California unemployment rate reaches 11.2%

[bemildred]

Reporting from Los Angeles and Sacramento -- Unemployment in California shot to 11.2% in March, the highest level since the state began keeping records. What's more, the number of people out of work for almost a year rose by 9.4%, and has now doubled in the last 12 months.

Carpenter Luiz Vasquez knows the frustration all too well. In the last year, he said, he worked only two weeks.

"I go through town, and I do not hear the sound of work," said Vasquez, 40, who is seeking help through a Chrysalis job center in Santa Monica. "I do not hear a single hammer strike."

The state's economy has been particularly hard on construction workers like Vasquez. The downturn started in housing and has spread to retailing, international trade, finance and nearly every other sector.

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-caljobs18-2009apr18,1,4300050.story

[mackerel]

1. It's hitting my neighborhood hard. I notice a lot more people

home during the week day.