California lost 5,500 jobs in October, bringing unemployment rate to 5.4% [Video]

Though inflation continued to tick down last month, unemployment ticked up, especially in the Golden State where a reliable gain in jobs saw a small but sudden dip. The overall U.S. unemployment rate is hovering at a historically low 4.1%. 

“The national rate, in fact, would have been stronger if not for Hurricane Helene and Hurricane  Milton, as well as the Boeing strike,” said employment lawyer and former EDD Director Michael Bernick.

Unfortunately, the Golden State rate ticked higher. 

“California going up to 5.4%. That’s among the highest, if not the highest. It diverges significantly from the national rate of 4.1%. And, I think one big takeaway today is that our divergence between us and the national rate is only getting bigger,” said Mr. Bernick.

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In fact, October was one of the few months, in the past four years, where California actually …