"She applied and got hired, just like that," Matt Lorimer said, noting that his wife's salary helps but isn't enough to support the family.
Jon Lieber of Westlake Village also is a stay-at-home dad when he's not out looking for work. He's had trouble finding another job in the securities industry since being laid off in September. Now he perfects his spaghetti-and-meatballs recipe and grills chicken and burgers when his wife, Deborah Gallant, is busy with her consulting business.
"I spend a lot more time grocery shopping, picking my daughter up from school," he said. "It wasn't something I was doing when I was working 50 hours a week."
There could be more men in his position if the jobs picture, as is expected, gets worse before it gets better.
A trio of economic reports predicted that the upswing won't happen before early next year. Recent forecasts from the UCLA Anderson School of Management, Chapman University and Beacon Economics, a Los Angeles consulting firm, predict that unemployment in the state will peak between 12.1% and 12.8%, possibly as early as year's end.
"We believe the recession at the state level should end by mid-2010, when job creation will start," said Esmael Adibi, a Chapman economist.
But for now, California continues to bleed jobs, more so than most of the rest of the country. The national unemployment rate for May was 9.4%, and only four states had higher jobless numbers than California: Michigan at 14.1%, Oregon at 12.4% and Rhode Island and South Carolina, tied at 12.1%.
California, which has 11% of the country's workforce, accounted for 1 out of every 5 jobs lost last month. The state has been vulnerable to paralyzing inactivity in fields related to real estate, including construction, financial services and home-related retail sales.
"Until we see real estate stabilizing, which it is not, we are not going to see significant improvements in the California economy," said Sung Won Sohn, an economist at Cal State Channel Islands.
What's worse, Sohn said, is that weakness in real estate is spreading to commercial properties.
The dearth of activity in real estate, housing and construction is being felt particularly in the Inland Empire, where unemployment rose in May to 13% from 12.7% the month before. Joblessness jumped in Ventura County to 9.5% from 9.3%, and it rose in Orange County to 8.6% from 8.4%.
Other economists said they were disappointed that California's labor market, unlike that of the nation, isn't showing signs of hitting bottom.
"I was hoping that the job loss would be smaller, but it's about the same as it's been the last three months," said Howard Roth at the state Department of Finance.
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marc.lifsher@latimes.com
alana.semuels@latimes.com
