California is a national unemployment leader, no matter how you do the math.

But what does that really say about the state of the state’s job market?

My trusty spreadsheet reviewed a spin on the traditional jobless rate to check on California’s standing. This “U-6” measure, as federal job counters call it, offers a broader view of workers’ struggles to find decent jobs.

This yardstick counts not only people who are actively looking for jobs — the basis for the traditional jobless tally — but it also includes “discouraged” folks who want a job but haven’t looked recently. Plus, it counts the “underemployed” – workers with part-time jobs who really want a full-time gig.

Some folks say this is the “real” unemployment rate, but for this discussion, let’s call it the worker disappointment rate.

As of the third quarter of 2025, the latest stats available, California’s disappointment rate was 10%. That’s the highest in the nation and well above the national median of 7.3%.

After California came Nevada at 9.6% and Michigan at 9.3%; the lowest disappointment rate was found in South Dakota at 4.6%, followed by Alabama and Vermont at 5.4%.

Note that this job dissatisfaction measure wasn’t exactly kind to California’s economic arch-rivals either. Texas’ 7.9% rate ranked 17th-highest, while Florida’s 7.4% ranked No. 25.

The good news is that recent worker disappointment runs well below the 20-year average – statewide and nationally.

The bad news for Californians is that the state has long ranked high on this chart. California’s average rate of 13.4% since 2005 has tied Nevada for No. 1 among the states.