California And Riverside County Buck National Unemployment Trend

California’s unemployment rate held steady last month at 12.6 percent, despite an increase in national unemployment.

The state Employment Development Department released the new figures Friday.

Non-farm payroll jobs went up by 14,200 in April, marking a fourth straight month of gains. Since Jan. 1, the state has added more than 56,000 new jobs.

About 2.3 million Californians remain unemployed. That’s down 7,000 from March, but still higher than a year ago, when the jobless rate was 11 percent.

In Riverside County, the unemployment rate dropped to 14.3% in April from 15.1% in March. In San Bernardino County, a smaller drop: in April 14.1% of eligible workers were jobless compared to 14.8% in March.

Meanwhile, national unemployment figures rose from 9.7 percent to 9.9 percent in April.

Click on the interactive map on the menu on this page to see how other states are faring in the unemployment battle.