Walters: California’s economy lags behind other states — here’s why it’s so sluggish

California’s unemployment rate, 5.2% of its labor force in July, is no longer the nation’s highest after months of having that dubious distinction.

While California’s July rate was unchanged from June, Nevada’s creeped ahead — or behind — with a 5.4% rate, so California is now tied with Illinois for second place among the states.

The jobless rate translates into slightly over 1 million of California’s 19.4 million-person labor force being unemployed. The labor force is defined as...