California adds 41,500 jobs; unemployment rate holds at 7.3% The California unemployment rate held steady at 7.3% in October, even as the state generated the largest increase in jobs in the nation. California employers added 41,500 nonfarm payroll jobs, followed by the 35,200 jobs added in Texas, according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics. The upswing follows a decline of 14,200 jobs in September -- originally reported as a 9,800-job decline -- that was described by most economists as a statistical anomaly. The national unemployment rate is at a six-year low of 5.8%. The western part of the country has the highest regional jobless rate, 6.5%, while the Midwest, with 5.6%, has the lowest. California's jobs recovery has occurred at a faster clip than the rest of the country. Unemployment in the state was 8.6% this time last year. Only Texas, with 421,900 jobs added over the year, has exceeded California's 319,500 new jobs. The state's labor force is growing, with 88,500 more people working or willing to work compared to September. And nearly all major industry sectors, including manufacturing, showed improvement in employment. The only exception was financial services, a category that has suffered for months, which lost 400 workers. In the Los Angeles, Long Beach and Glendale area, the unemployment rate didn't budge from a seasonally adjusted 8%. The region's labor force grew by 2,400 workers.