California jobless rate soars to highest on record

LOS ANGELES: California's unemployment rate surged to its highest level on record last month, rising to 11.5 percent as 69,000 jobs across the state vanished, official figures showed on Friday.

The California Employment Development Department figures showed a 0.4 increase in unemployment from April as the most populous US state continued to reel under the recession.

Only four other states have higher unemployment than California, Michigan, Oregon, Rhode Island and South Carolina, according to official figures. California's numbers contrasted with a national US jobless rate of 9.4 percent in May.

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger said Friday the jobless figures showed the state's recovery "will not happen overnight."

"There is no greater priority right now than to stimulate the economy, create jobs and get California back on the road to prosperity," he said in a statement.