Beacon Calls 2019 California Employment Growth Impressive

Non-farm employment in California capped off 2019 with modest gains, according to analysis released by Beacon Economics and UC Riverside. The latest figures released by the California Employment Development Department reveal that employment in the state grew by 12,600 jobs in December. Since December 2018, California has added 310,300 jobs, which is equivalent to a 1.8% year-over-year increase, exceeding the nation’s growth rate of 1.4%–a record that Beacon’s Taner Osman calls “impressive.”

California’s unemployment rate held steady at 3.9% in December, maintaining its record low. The state’s overall unemployment rate fell from 4.1% to 3.9% in 2019. The state’s labor force expanded for a fourth straight month, growing by 52,300 workers. This reverses the contraction of the labor force that was seen in the first half of 2019. Since December 2018, California’s labor force has expanded by 36,900 workers, a relatively lackluster year-over-year increase of 0.2%. At the same time, the nation’s labor force grew by 0.9%.

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