The State - News from July 1, 1988

Unemployment in the San Francisco Bay Area increased substantially in May for the first time in four months, the state reported. The jobless rates all rose by half a percent or more although they remained below the comparable figures of 5.8% for all of California and 5.4% for the nation, said the state Employment Development Department. In San Francisco, San Mateo and Marin counties, the rate was 3.9%, compared to 3.4% in April. It was 3.7% in May, 1987, but the state has changed its calculation methods since then and the rates are likely to appear somewhat higher, officials say.