Unemployment Rate Ticks Down in L.A. County

The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in Los Angeles County dropped to 11.6 percent in April, down from 11.8 percent in March, the state Employment Development Department announced Friday.

The 11.6 percent unemployment rate was below the 12.2 percent rate in April 2011, according to the state agency.

In Altadena the unemployment rate was 7.7 percent as of April 30 compared to 8.2 percent in April of 2011.

In nearby Orange County the job market also improved with the unemployment rate dropping to7.4 percent in April, down from 8.1 percent in March.

In the last year, California as a whole has also seen improvement - the state's jobless rate in April was 10.9 percent, down from 11.8 percent a year ago.

The comparable estimates for the nation were 8.1 percent in April, 8.2 percent in March and 9 percent a year ago.

A total of 569,000 people were unemployed in April in Los Angeles County, which has a labor force of about 4.9 million.

Statewide, 2 million people were out of work, down slightly from the previous month.