Inside California’s 11.1 Percent Unemployment Rate

California’s 11.1 percent unemployment rate is a statewide average.

The number of Californians working — or not working — varies by geography.

In Merced, the unemployment rate is 18 percent while in the Bay Area, it’s under 10 percent. Fresno has  16 pecent unemployment rate but Napa’s is only 8.5 percent.

Riverside and San Bernardino stand at nearly 13 percent. And in the Los Angeles, Long Beach and Santa Ana area, the rate is close to that of the state, 10.9 percent. 

The unemployment rate differs by race, ethnicity and age.

For Californians aged 16 through 19, the unemployment rate is more than 35 percent. It’s 17.6 percent for those aged 20 through 24. For Californians aged 35 to 54, the rate is below 10 percent.

As of the end of 2011, nearly 9 percent of Asian Americans were unemployed, whites 11.3 percent, Hispanics almost 14 percent and African Americans 19.6 percent. 

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