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Unemployment rises in Kern

| Friday, Jul 18 2008 12:12 PM

Last Updated: Friday, Jul 18 2008 1:06 PM

The unemployment rate in Kern County rose to 9.5 percent last month from 8.1 in June of last year.

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There was also a slight increase between May and June. The revised May unemployment rate was 9.4 percent. By comparison, California’s unemployment rate was 7 percent in June. Nationwide, the rate was 5.7 percent.

Overall, the county gained 3,100 jobs over the past year, enough to soften the blow of deep losses in certain sectors.

The construction industry lost the most jobs, bleeding 1,000 positions between June 2007 and June 2008. Leisure and hospitality lost 500 jobs, while 300 positions were eliminated in the category of financial activities.

The biggest gains were in manufacturing (1,000 jobs), natural resources and mining (900 jobs), government (700 jobs) and “other services,” which saw an increase of 800 jobs.

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