California has the highest unemployment rate of all 50 states.
Posted by On with Kara Swisher, Checked
- Sources
- 3 support2 context
- Said
- 1 time·
- Confidence
- 60%
On with Kara SwisherAug 10, 2026
As of the August 2026 data, California's 5.1% unemployment rate was tied with Oregon for the highest among the 50 states, and the September BLS-based coverage also places it at the top among states (behind only DC, which is not a state).
This claim is about the present, so it is judged as of the day it was checked.
What was said
… I mean, we can go through the data, but it's bad. I mean, we have the highest poverty rate in the country right now, tied with Louisiana; highest unemployment rate of all 50 states; the highest cost of living by far; highest gas prices; electric bills have doubled in the last 10 years. They're now double the national average. Grocery is the most expensive. A lot of that is driven by energy costs. …
On with Kara Swisher · · from the transcriptPost →What we found
Supports. Center for Jobs' August 2026 report (published 2026-09-21) says California's seasonally adjusted rate of 5.1% tied with Oregon for the highest rate among the states, with DC higher at 5.7%.[3]
Supports. Newsweek's September 2026 BLS summary (published 2026-10-21) lists DC as highest at 5.6% and California second at 5.1%, meaning California is highest among the states in that month.[4]
Supports. The BLS state release (published 2026-10-20) lists California at 5.1% for the latest month, consistent with the state-level rankings above.[1]
Context. California's July 2026 rate was 5.1%, the lowest since February 2024, per EDD, which is the rate current when the claim was made. No source explicitly ranks the states for July.[2][5]
Context. The claim is a faithful extraction from the post, which said California had the highest unemployment rate of all 50 states; the tie with Oregon is a nuance rather than a contradiction.[3]
Sources
5 sources: 2 primary, 3 not rated
- 1State Employment and Unemployment (Monthly) News ...bls.gov · primary source · cited for: supports
- 2California's Unemployment Rate Improves to 5.1 Percent - EDDedd.ca.gov · primary source · cited for: context
- 3California Employment Report for August 2026 - Center for Jobscenterforjobs.org · not rated · cited for: supports, context
- 4Map Shows States Where Unemployment Is Growing Two Weeks ...newsweek.com · not rated · cited for: supports
- 5Unemployment Rate (Seasonally Adjusted)kff.org · not rated · cited for: context
Where this claim was made
Said in 1 published post
Related claims
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