12/02/2024

Reports » Job Reports

April 2018 Jobs Report

Highlights for policy makers:

Unemployment Rate Level at 4.2%; Total Employment Loses 8,800

The Labor Force data for April 2018 (seasonally adjusted; California preliminary) is shown below, along with the change from the prior month:

Seasonally Adjusted California US
Apr 2018 Change from Mar 2018 Apr 2018 Change from Mar 2018
Unemployment Rate 4.2% -0.1 3.9% -0.2
Labor Force 19,358,700 -0.1% 161,527,000 -0.1%
Participation Rate 62.1% -0.1 62.8% -0.1
Employment 18,543,400 0.0% 155,181,000 0.0%
Unemployment 815,300 -1.5% 6,346,000 -3.6%
Source: California Employment Development Department; US Bureau of Labor Statistics

 

The related not seasonally adjusted numbers (California preliminary), with the change from April 2017:

Not Seasonally Adjusted California US
Apr 2018 Change from Apr 2017 Apr 2018 Change from Apr 2017
Unemployment Rate 3.8% -0.9 3.7% -0.4
Labor Force 19,246,800 0.0% 161,280,000 0.9%
Participation Rate 61.7% -0.5 62.7% -0.1
Employment 18,508,900 0.9% 155,348,000 1.4%
Unemployment 737,800 -18.2% 5,932,000 -9.5%
Source: California Employment Development Department; US Bureau of Labor Statistics

 

California Employment Development Department’s (EDD) latest data shows on a seasonally adjusted basis, total employment edged down 8,800 from March, while the number of unemployed dropped by 12,500. The labor force dipped by 21,300.

California’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate edged down to 4.2%, the lowest level in the current data series that began in 1976. California tied with Delaware for the 21st highest unemployment rate among the states. The unadjusted rate dropped from 4.7% in April 2017 to 3.8%. Contraction in the labor force was a key element in reaching the April low.

Total US employment saw a seasonally adjusted gain of 3,000 from March, while the number of unemployed dropped by 239,000. The national unemployment rate dropped to 3.9%, near the record low in the current data series seen in 2000. The national labor force numbers dropped by 236,000. Contraction in the national labor force also contributed to the improved unemployment rate.

Labor Force Participation Rate Dips to 62.1%

California’s participation rate (seasonally adjusted) in April dipped 0.1 to 62.1%, while the US rate dipped by the same amount to 62.8%. The California rate is now only 0.2 percentage points above the revised series low from 2015.

Looking at the underlying unadjusted data for California, the April 2018 labor force is essentially unchanged from April 2017. Movement is primarily a shift of unemployed to employed in nearly equal numbers, with only a net gain of 6,200 moving into the labor force. In contrast, the US numbers show a significant rise in labor force entrants by 1,463,000 (0.9%), with the gains in employment (2,086,000) strongly outpacing the drop in unemployment (623,000).

Considered by age, the prime working age groups in California (age 25-54 and 55-64) remain somewhat below their previous highs since 2000. Continued declines have been among youth and young adults. These trends in particular have long-term implications for income distributions in the state, as most studies indicate that work skills developed through early employment are correlated with long-term earnings potential. In contrast to the younger groups, persons 65 and older show a rising labor force participation rate compared to the prior low at the beginning of this period.

Labor Force Participation Rate by Age

Prior Max Mar 2018
Total 67.2% 62.2%
16-19 46.8% 27.2%
20-24 76.4% 65.9%
25-54 82.1% 80.0%
55-64 66.3% 63.5%
Prior Min
65+ 12.1% 19.6%
Source: Current Population Survey microdata; EDD
Note: All entries from 12-month moving average

State Employment Growth Rankings—California Slips to #2

Change in Employment, April 2017 – April 2018
Rank Number of Employed Percentage Change Population Adjusted
(employment growth per 1,000 civilian
noninstitutional population)
1 TX 299,200 ID 3.1% ID 19.1
2 CA 245,300 CO 2.8% CO 18.8
3 FL 162,300 GA 2.6% UT 16.5
4 GA 124,200 NV 2.6% GA 15.6
5 CO 82,100 AZ 2.5% NV 15.2
6 AZ 78,900 UT 2.5% AZ 14.5
7 TN 65,800 LA 2.4% TX 14.1
8 NC 64,800 TX 2.3% LA 13.3
9 MA 57,400 TN 2.2% TN 12.5
10 WA 56,700 NM 1.9% MN 11.8
11 VA 51,900 MN 1.7% DC 11.4
12 MN 51,300 DC 1.7% NM 10.4
13 LA 47,700 OR 1.7% MA 10.3
14 OH 44,100 FL 1.7% OR 10.3
15 WI 42,700 OK 1.7% WA 9.8
16 IL 38,600 MA 1.6% OK 9.7
17 UT 36,800 WA 1.6% FL 9.6
18 NV 35,500 WI 1.4% WI 9.3
19 OR 34,100 DE 1.4% VT 8.7
20 OK 28,900 NC 1.4% DE 8.2
21 IN 26,700 VT 1.3% NC 8.1
22 KY 24,900 CA 1.3% CA 7.9
23 ID 24,700 KY 1.3% VA 7.9
24 MI 23,200 VA 1.3% KY 7.2
25 AL 19,900 SD 1.0% SD 7.0
US 2,020,000 US 1.3% US 7.9
Source: US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Seasonally Adjusted

 

Between April 2017 and April 2018, Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data shows the total number of employed in California increased by 245,300 (seasonally adjusted), or 12.1% of the total net employment gains in this period for the US. Based on the total numbers, California slipped to 2nd place behind Texas (which has a civilian working age population only 69% as large as California’s) but ahead of Florida’s (55% as large) gains at 162,300. Measured by percentage change in employment over the year, California dropped to 22nd highest. Adjusted for working age population, California also dropped to 22nd.

Nonfarm Jobs Up 39,300

EDD reported that between March and April 2018, seasonally adjusted nonfarm wage and salary jobs rose 39,300. March’s results were revised to a 5,400 gain from the previously reported 7,200 loss.

In the not seasonally adjusted nonfarm numbers, hiring saw increases in all but 2 industries over the year. The change in total payroll jobs from April 2017 saw the largest increases in Construction (63,400), Social Assistance (40,400), and Administrative & Support & Waste Services (38,900). Declines were in Other Services (-1,000) and Utilities (-700).

Not Seasonally Adjusted Payroll Jobs Apr 2018 Mar 2018 Change Apr 2018 – Mar 2018 Change Apr 2018 – Apr 2017
Total Farm 433,700 366,500 67,200 7,000
Mining and Logging 21,600 21,200 400 500
Construction 855,200 833,000 22,200 63,400
Manufacturing 1,313,700 1,315,600 -1,900 13,400
Wholesale Trade 725,400 726,700 -1,300 5,700
Retail Trade 1,683,700 1,675,900 7,800 14,800
Utilities 58,100 57,900 200 -700
Transportation & Warehousing 576,800 577,200 -400 23,300
Information 534,800 533,000 1,800 15,900
Finance & Insurance 547,600 545,800 1,800 1,100
Real Estate & Rental & Leasing 286,700 285,300 1,400 6,000
Professional, Scientific & Technical Services 1,258,000 1,252,300 5,700 27,700
Management of Companies & Enterprises 232,500 231,400 1,100 800
Administrative & Support & Waste Services 1,112,400 1,108,600 3,800 38,900
Educational Services 383,800 386,900 -3,100 10,300
Health Care 1,522,000 1,524,400 -2,400 29,700
Social Assistance 807,400 803,300 4,100 40,400
Arts, Entertainment & Recreation 311,200 308,400 2,800 4,900
Accommodation 229,900 227,800 2,100 6,400
Food Services 1,447,500 1,433,500 14,000 30,000
Other Services 562,800 556,100 6,700 -1,000
Government 2,616,100 2,612,000 4,100 30,300
Total Nonfarm 17,087,200 17,016,300 70,900 361,800
Total Wage and Salary 17,520,900 17,382,800 138,100 368,800
Source: California Employment Development Department

 

At 356,800, California showed the highest increase in seasonally adjusted nonfarm jobs among the states from April 2017 to April 2018, ahead of Texas at 332,300. By percentage growth in jobs, California rose to 8th highest at 2.1%, above the US average of 1.6%. By population adjusted jobs growth, California also rose to 8th highest.

Change in Nonfarm Jobs (seasonally adjusted), April 2017 – April 2018
Rank Number of Jobs Employment Growth (%) Population Adjusted
(job growth per 1,000 civilian
noninstitutional population)
1 CA 356,800 NV 3.4% UT 21.5
2 TX 332,300 ID 3.3% NV 19.4
3 FL 178,400 UT 3.3% ID 18.1
4 NY 117,200 WA 2.8% WA 16.2
5 WA 94,000 TX 2.7% CO 15.9
6 NC 84,100 CO 2.6% TX 15.7
7 PA 83,600 AZ 2.2% WY 12.3
8 CO69,700 CA 2.1% CA 11.5
9 GA 67,100 FL 2.1% AZ 11.3
10 AZ 61,700 OR 2.0% OR 11.2
11 NJ 58,600 WY 2.0% FL 10.6
12 OH 56,900 NC 1.9% NC 10.5
13 IL 53,000 OK 1.8% OK 10.2
14 UT 48,200 SC 1.7% DC 9.5
15 MA 47,600 GA 1.5% SC 9.0
16 VA 46,300 TN 1.5% KS 8.6
17 MI 45,600 RI 1.5% TN 8.5
18 NV 45,300 NJ 1.4% MA 8.5
19 TN 45,000 PA 1.4% NH 8.5
20 OR 37,200 NH 1.4% GA 8.4
21 SC 35,500 KS 1.4% RI 8.4
22 MO 33,700 NM 1.3% NJ 8.2
23 IN 30,600 MA 1.3% PA 8.2
24 OK 30,500 HI 1.3% HI 7.8
25 WI 27,900 MS 1.3% NY 7.4
US 2,280,000 US 1.6% US 9.0
Source: US Bureau of Labor Statistics

Four Industries Below 2007 Pre-Recession Job Levels

Source: California Employment Development Department, not seasonally adjusted; wages are running 4 quarter average from QCEW wage data

Comparing the number of jobs by industry in April 2018 (not seasonally adjusted), four industries had employment below the 2007 pre-recession levels. The highest gain industries were led by lower wage Food Services, Health Care (with a relatively higher mix of lower and higher wage occupations), lower wage Social Assistance, and higher wage Professional, Scientific & Technical Services. Of the lagging industries, three—Manufacturing, Mining & Logging, and Construction—are blue collar middle class wage industries, while the higher wage Finance & Insurance also remained in the minus column. Construction has overall improved but still remains 64,600 below the 2007 peak, and 111,100 (11%) below the previous high in 2006.

Job Gains by Wage Level

The following chart illustrates the trend for total wage and salary jobs by general wage level, according to the industry wage classification used previously in other Center analyses of this issue. As indicated, nearly half (47%) of net jobs growth since the recession has been in the lower wage industries. For the 12 months ending April 2018, lower wage industries accounted for about a quarter (26%) of new jobs, while middle class-blue collar jobs produced over a third (39%) as a result of improvements in Construction levels.

Source: Analysis of California Employment Development Department data, not seasonally adjusted

Two-Tier Economy Persists—Central Valley Unemployment Three Times as High as Bay Area

The level of unemployment rates (all data is not seasonally adjusted) continues to vary widely across the state, ranging from 2.5% in the Bay Area to three times as large at 7.5% in the Central Valley.

Not Seasonally Adjusted Unemployment Rate (%) April 2018
California 3.8
Bay Area 2.5
Orange County 2.6
San Diego/Imperial 3.4
Sacramento 3.4
Inland Empire 3.7
Los Angeles 3.9
Central Sierra 4.1
Central Coast 5.2
Upstate California 5.4
Central Valley 7.5

By Legislative District:

Lowest 10 Unemployment Rates
CD18 (Eshoo-D) 2.0 SD13 (Hill-D) 1.8 AD16 (Baker-R) 1.8
CD12 (Pelosi-D) 2.0 SD11 (Wiener-D) 2.2 AD22 (Mullin-D) 1.8
CD52 (Peters-D) 2.1 SD39 (Atkins-D) 2.3 AD24 (Berman-D) 1.9
CD17 (Khanna-D) 2.2 SD36 (Bates-R) 2.3 AD28 (Low-D) 2.0
CD14 (Speier-D) 2.2 SD37 (Moorlach-R) 2.4 AD17 (Chiu-D) 2.1
CD45 (Walters-R) 2.3 SD10 (Wieckowski-D) 2.5 AD77 (Maienschein-R) 2.2
CD49 (Issa-R) 2.3 SD07 (Glazer-D) 2.5 AD73 (Brough-R) 2.2
CD15 (Swalwell-D) 2.3 SD15 (Beall-D) 2.5 AD78 (Gloria-D) 2.2
CD48 (Rohrabacher-R) 2.5 SD34 (Nguyen-R) 2.8 AD19 (Ting-D) 2.2
CD02 (Huffman-D) 2.7 SD38 (Anderson-R) 2.9 AD25 (Chu-D) 2.2
Highest 10 Unemployment Rates
CD03 (Garamendi-D) 4.8 SD24 (de León-D) 4.6 AD64 (Gipson-D) 5.7
CD09 (McNerney-D) 5.3 SD30 (Mitchell-D) 4.7 AD03 (Gallagher-R) 5.9
CD44 (Barragán-D) 5.6 SD04 (Nielsen-R) 4.7 AD13 (Eggman-D) 6.4
CD10 (Denham-R) 5.8 SD35 (Bradford-D) 5.0 AD23 (Patterson-R) 6.4
CD20 (Panetta-D) 6.2 SD05 (Galgiani-D) 5.7 AD34 (Fong-R) 6.5
CD51 (Vargas-D) 7.0 SD08 (Berryhill-R) 5.9 AD56 (Garcia-D) 7.9
CD23 (McCarthy-R) 7.0 SD40 (Hueso-D) 6.0 AD21 (Gray-D) 8.4
CD22 (Nunes-R) 7.3 SD16 (Fuller-R) 6.8 AD31 (Arambula-D) 8.9
CD16 (Costa-D) 8.7 SD12 (Cannella-R) 7.6 AD26 (Mathis-R) 8.9
CD21 (Valadao-R) 9.6 SD14 (Vidak-R) 10.3 AD32 (Salas-D) 10.1

Bay Area Provided 39.5% of Net Employment Growth Since Recession

Containing 19.4% of the state’s population, the Bay Area was responsible for 39.5% of the net growth in employment since the pre-recession peaks in 2007. Los Angeles Region, containing 29.2% of the population, accounted for the second largest share at 20.2%. Inland Empire is the only other region continuing to show employment gains above their population share.

Eight California MSAs in the 10 Worst Unemployment Rates Nationally

According to BLS data, of the 10 Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) with the worst unemployment rates nationally, 8 are in California. Of the 20 worst, 10 are in California.

Metropolitan Area March 2018 Rate Rank
Longview, WA Metropolitan Statistical Area 6.7 368
Fairbanks, AK Metropolitan Statistical Area 6.9 370
McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX Metropolitan Statistical Area 6.9 370
Modesto, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area 6.9 370
Anchorage, AK Metropolitan Statistical Area 7.2 373
Atlantic City-Hammonton, NJ Metropolitan Statistical Area 7.2 373
Yakima, WA Metropolitan Statistical Area 7.6 375
Vineland-Bridgeton, NJ Metropolitan Statistical Area 7.7 376
Watertown-Fort Drum, NY Metropolitan Statistical Area 8.0 377
Madera, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area 8.2 378
Fresno, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area 8.7 379
Yuba City, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area 8.7 379
Hanford-Corcoran, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area 9.2 381
Salinas, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area 9.4 382
Bakersfield, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area 9.6 383
Merced, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area 10.2 384
Visalia-Porterville, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area 11.0 385
Ocean City, NJ Metropolitan Statistical Area 13.2 386
Yuma, AZ Metropolitan Statistical Area 13.6 387
El Centro, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area 15.3 388

 

Note: All data sources, methodologies, and historical data series available at CenterforJobs.org/ca.