L.A. jobless rate drops

November unemployment was 12.4 percent, down from a revised 12.7 percent in October. So will October turn out to be the peak? Based on the year-ahead forecasts recently released, it seems a little early to declare that the worst is over. More likely the worst is here and likely to stay here a while. Economists expect double-digit unemployment for at least another year, possibly two. Besides, the 12.4 percent county rate belies far higher rates within portions of the county. The other part of the employment report is a separate payroll survey that shows L.A. picking up nearly 7,000 jobs last month, with nice gains in retail and government (still don't know why government is hiring). That's a better showing than the state, which lost 10,200 jobs. The yearly numbers, however, are grim: The county lost almost 142,000 jobs over the past 12 months, with manufacturing doing the worst and educational and health services doing the best. Here's the EDD release.

Earlier: Dip in CA jobless rate