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Why Is California’s Unemployment Rate the Highest in the Nation?

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The offices of the Employment Development Department in Sacramento. (Miguel Gutierrez Jr./CalMatters)

New unemployment numbers show that California is tied with Nevada for the highest unemployment rate in the nation. Experts point to uncertainty over tariffs and trade policy, immigration raids and the rise of Artificial Intelligence as some of the main contributors. So what does a high unemployment rate mean for one of the world’s largest economies?  

Scott talks with economist Christopher Thornberg, founding partner of Beacon Economics, an independent research and consulting firm.

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