A week after Gov. Jerry Brown warned of a possible slowdown in California’s economy, state officials reported Friday that unemployment continued falling in April as job growth perked up.
The unemployment rate fell to 5.3 percent, down a tenth of a point from the month before, the Employment Development Department said. It was the lowest statewide unemploment rate since June 2007.
Job growth statewide in April was a robust 59,600, up sharply from the 5,200 jobs added in March. The numbers suggest California is “on track for another good year in 2016,” said economist Stephen Levy, of the Center for Continuing Study of the California Economy, in a note to reporters.
The jobs report came exactly a week after Brown, unveiling his revised budget blueprint, urged the Legislature to rein in spending after April income tax revenues came in about $1.2 billion below expectations. Although his revised budget projects that the economy will continue to expand at lesat through June 2017, the governor warned Californians that a slowdown could be coming.
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