State and local unemployment rates fall in April, but so do number of jobs

L.A. County's unemployment rate was 11.6 percent, down from a revised 11.8 percent in March. Statewide, the rate was 10.9 percent, down from 11 percent. That sounds promising, but the separate payroll survey shows that L.A. County lost 7,100 jobs from March to April and California lost 4,200 jobs. This could reflect what's going on nationally: More people leaving the job market out of frustration. It is worth noting that year over year job growth has been pretty good. L.A. employment increased by 27,100 jobs from April 2011, and California added 175,600 jobs. So it's possible that April was just a weak month in the context of the overall recovery. Here's the EDD release.