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California Payrolls Jump in June, Though Labor Force Fell
California’s unemployment remained at 4.2% in June, while the state’s employers added 46,200 non-farm payroll jobs, according to the California Employment Development Department (EDD). That’s still hovering near the state’s record low unemployment rate of 4.1% set in July through December 2018.
June’s 46,200 job gain was California’s second largest increase in 2019, and accounted for roughly 21% of the nation’s 224,000 job gain for the month. The state’s 112-month employment expansion is the second-longest on record behind the 113-month long expansion of the 1960s.
Nine of California’s 11 major industry sectors reported job gains in June. The biggest increase of 11,900 jobs came in construction; that industry’s largest June job increase in 10 years. Commercial and home construction both contributed to the construction industry’s June surge.
Job growth in June doubled May’s total of 21,600 positions. Year-over-year, the state expanded payrolls at a 1.7% rate, increasing by 296,100 jobs, which exceeded the national rate of 1.5%.
Yet, all was not golden, as California’s labor force shrank by 57,707 in June and has fallen by 161,400 since it peaked in February. In the year-over-year comparison, the state’s labor force expanded by a slothful 0.3%. Economists point out that drop reflects just how tight the labor market has become.
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- ◦Economy
