Ramona Unemployment Rises to 6.8 Percent

Ramona's unemployment rate rose to 6.8 percent in June, up from 6.2 percent the previous month but down from 8.6 percent a year ago, according to the latest data from the state's Employment Development Department.

The unemployment rate in San Diego County in June was 7.3 percent, up from 6.8 percent in May but below the 9.3 percent recorded in June 2012.

The increase was the first since January, according to the EDD.

San Diego's figure compared with 8.8 percent in California and 7.8 percent in the U.S. The figures are not seasonally adjusted.

A loss of 1,100 jobs in educational services and growth in the overall labor force contributed to the higher unemployment number, according to the EDD.

The agency said 118,400 San Diego County residents were unemployed in June, up 10,000 more than in May. That's out of a labor force of more than 1.6 million, a figure that expanded by almost 6,000.

The EDD usually sends out unemployment figures on Friday mornings, but sent the statistics out Thursday because of an inadvertent early release of the data by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the agency said.

-City News Service