7.7% Jobless Rate Is State’s Highest in Nearly 6 Years : Economy: Figures show that California lost 8,300 non-farm jobs last month. Economists see more trouble ahead.

The California unemployment rate jumped to 7.7% in March, the highest level in almost six years, as the recession continued to wring jobs from the slumping state economy.

The jobless level, up from 7.4% in February, was the third highest in the country among major states, reflecting persistent weakness in construction, manufacturing and other once-booming industries, according to a report released Friday by the California Employment Development Department.

“The indications are that unemployment may move up through much of the year,” said Joseph A. Wahed, chief economist at Wells Fargo Bank in San Francisco.

On balance, the state lost 8,300 non-farm jobs last month, according to seasonally adjusted figures. In addition, California lost 19,900 jobs in February, state officials said, in a sharp downward revision from a previous report that the state gained 5,300 jobs in February.

The economic data provides the latest evidence that the recession is taking a toll on workers, even as optimism grows that a recovery is around the corner.

An extraordinary jobs machine in the 1980s, California has been hammered for months by troubles in real estate, aerospace and defense that have filtered into other sectors. Its unemployment rate has risen steadily since last summer and now exceeds the national average, which was pegged at 6.8% for March.

“There’s no question in my mind that the California economy fell off a cliff in the second half of 1990, and the unemployment figure is consistent with that,” said David G. Hensley, an economic forecaster at UCLA.

Even so, it could have been worse. If California had lost proportionately as many jobs as the nation did overall--206,000 in March--the state would have lost 24,000 jobs. Instead, California lost 8,300.

“At least we’re being spared the onslaught,” Hensley said.

The job losses were concentrated in construction--reflecting the weak economy and last month’s unusually rainy weather--and manufacturing, especially among makers of transportation and electrical equipment. Many of the manufacturing losses were related to the fields of high tech and aerospace, state officials reported.

While service industries gained in employment overall--featuring increases in business, health, hotels and recreation--service employment declined at food stores, auto dealerships and real estate firms.

For months, specialists in the California economy have been puzzled by contradictory findings in two separate government measures of the state’s economic health.

A government survey of 4,300 households, which is the basis for the monthly unemployment-rate report, has pointed to a consistent weakening in the jobs outlook. But a separate survey of employers, which is used to tally the number of jobs created or lost each month, has suggested a somewhat healthier picture.

In light of varied evidence of trouble in California’s economic landscape, however, “I think the unemployment rate is probably the more accurate reflection,” Hensley said.

One piece of evidence to back up a gloomy analysis is a rise in demand for unemployment insurance benefits.

In March, there were 88,807 new claims for the unemployment aid, compared to 73,268 such claims in February, state officials reported Friday. A year ago, just 52,700 workers registered new claims for the jobless benefits.

The downward revision in February jobs further highlighted weakness in the economy. The government routinely revises its economic statistics, but the February figure initially had prompted hopes that the state was beginning to turn the corner toward recovery.

In any case, such labor-related statistics may reveal more about yesterday’s economic conditions than about tomorrow’s. Various other gauges, including surveys of consumer confidence, home purchases and lower interest rates, all suggest that the recession could give way to an economic recovery within months, according to analysts.

Yet job opportunities may expand slowly. Employers are slow to take on significant job expansions after a slump, Wahed said, adding: “Even when the economy starts to recover later this year, you’ll probably still see an increase in joblessness” at least for a while.

Moreover, the recovery is widely expected to be only lukewarm and not characterized by the brisk growth that has followed past recessions. In California, the problems of excess commercial real estate, the defense industry, the state government’s budget deficit and the drought add further uncertainties.

Such problems “make a persuasive case that the state will be struggling for much of the year, and the recovery won’t be as strong as would ordinarily be expected,” Hensley said.

* U.S. JOBLESS RATE UP

The nation’s unemployment rate climbed in March to 6.8% from 6.5%, the government said. A1

CALIFORNIA UNEMPLOYMENT

Percent of workforce.

March ‘91: 7.7%

Source: California Employment Development Department.