Job picture remains bad

Virtually all of California remained mired in double-digit unemployment in March, with El Centro once again topping the list of the nation's metro areas, at 27 percent. Among the 28 areas with jobless rates of at least 15 percent, 15 were in California, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Another not-so-wonderful claim to fame: The L.A.-Long Beach-Santa Ana area had the highest year-over-year drop in employment (-150,800), although on a percentage basis the losses in other communities were far greater. Also keep in mind that things are bad all over: U.S. unemployment rates were higher in 321 of the 372 metro areas, and lower in 41 areas. As you can see from the list below, there's a wide variance in California - some areas are only slightly above the national rate of 9.7 percent.

Bakersfield-Delano....................18.3%
Chico.................................15.1%
El Centro.............................27%
Fresno................................18.7%
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana......11.7%
Modesto...............................19.2%
Napa..................................10.7%
Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura..........11.2%
Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario...... 15%
Sacramento--Arden-Arcade--Roseville.....13.1%
San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos......... 11%
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont.........11%
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara........12.3%
Santa Barbara-Santa Maria-Goleta......10.1%
Santa Cruz-Watsonville................15.3%
Yuba City............................21.7%