The rate has hovered above 12 percent for months and has been stuck above 11 percent since 2009. California's is the second highest in the nation, behind Nevada, which had a rate of 13.4 percent in September, the most recent data available.
Still, the October numbers are an improvement from a year ago, when its unemployment rate was 12.5 percent.
EDD said the state added 25,700 jobs in October -- a large number considering the United States added a total of 80,000 jobs in the same period.
The national unemployment rate also dropped slightly to 9 percent in October.
About 495,000 people continue to receive unemployment insurance benefits in California, and nearly 69,000 new claims were received in October.
