California’s unemployment rate is the highest in the nation — again — as the state’s tech sector struggles to retain jobs, thanks partly to the advance of artificial intelligence (AI) within the industry.
The San Francisco Chronicle reported:
California’s unemployment rate rose to 5.5% in July, the highest among U.S. states, as tech and other office jobs showed more weakness and hiring remained sluggish, according to state data released Friday.
The state added a net 15,000 jobs, pushing the unemployment rate up 0.1 percentage points from June to the highest rate since December. California’s rate was higher than the national unemployment rate of 4.2% in July.
…
“It’s brutal out there,” said Bernick, who is special counsel at Duane Morris LLP. While artificial intelligence is partly to blame as it automates some tasks performed by entry-level workers, Bernick noted that tech companies are still shedding some of the roles that they overhired for during the pandemic.
California also had the highest unemployment rate among the 50 U.S. states in July, at 5.4%.
The state’s economic struggles are a drag on the nascent presidential candidacy of Gov. Gavin Newsom (D), who is hoping that confrontations with President Donald Trump and other Republicans over gerrymandering and social issues will make up for a paper-thin record of achievements on policy and nagging budget deficits.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of The Zionist Conspiracy Wants You, now available on Amazon. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
Read the full article here