California | January 22, 2019

California Unemployment Rate Rises to 4.2%, Employers Add 25K Jobs

California’s unemployment rate increased to 4.2% in December, while the state’s employers added 24,500 nonfarm payroll jobs, according to the California Employment Development Department (EDD) from two surveys. California has now gained a total of 3,097,600 jobs since the economic expansion began in February 2010.

In December 2017, the state’s unemployment rate was 4.5%. The year-over change from December 2017 to December 2018 shows an increase of 284,300 jobs (up 1.7%). The number of unemployed Californians stood at 813,900 in December, an increase of 7,300 over the month and down by 52,500 compared with December of last year.

Nine of California’s eleven industry sectors added a total of 26,100 jobs in December. Leisure and hospitality reported the largest increase with a gain of 9,500 jobs, followed by educational and health services which gained 7,900 jobs. Two of California industries reported job losses over the month. Construction reported the largest decrease with a loss of 1,300 jobs, followed by other services which lost 300 jobs.

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About Dennis Kaiser

Dennis Kaiser is Vice President of Content and Public Relations for Connect Commercial Real Estate. Dennis is a communications leader with more than 30 years of experience including as a journalist and in corporate and agency marketing communications roles. He is responsible for Connect’s client content operations and is involved in a range of initiatives ranging from content strategy, message development, copywriting, media relations, social media and content marketing services. In his most recent corporate communications roles, he led a regional public relations effort across Southern California for CBRE, played a key marketing role on JLL’s national retail team, and was responsible for directing the global public relations effort at ValleyCrest, the nation’s largest commercial landscape services company. In addition to his vast commercial real estate experience, Dennis has worked on communications and launch strategies for a number of residential projects such as Disney’s Celebration in Florida, Ritter Ranch in Palmdale California (7,200 homes, 22,000 acres), WaterColor in Florida and PremierGarage in Phoenix. Dennis’s agency background included firms such as Idea Hall and Macy + Associates. He has earned an outstanding reputation with organization leaders as a trusted advisor, strategic program implementer, consensus builder and exceptional collaborator. Dennis has developed and managed national communications programs for Fortune 500 companies to start-ups, both public and private. He’s successfully worked with journalists across the globe representing clients involved in major-breaking news stories, product launches, media tours, and company news announcements. Dennis has been involved in a host of charitable and community organizations including the American Cancer Society, Easter Seals, BoyScouts, Chrysalis Foundation, Freedom For Life, HOLA, L.A.’s BEST, Reach Out and Read, Super Bowl Host Committee, and Thunderbirds Charities.