Who'ya Gonna Believe?

Is this a precursor to national numbers, or are the national numbers "questionable"?

What the housing boom giveth, the bust taketh away.

The slump in California's once-effervescent real estate market is taking its toll on jobs, a state report released Friday showed.

Mounting losses in construction and financial services — the two sectors most dependent on home building and sales — contributed to the second increase in the state's unemployment rate in two months.

The rate rose to 5.2% in May from 5.1% in April, the California Employment Development Division said.

By comparison, the rate in May 2006 was 4.9%.

The uptick further widened the gap between the state and national jobless rates, the latter of which held steady in May at 4.5%