Highlights for policy makers:
- Unemployment Rate Improves to 4.3%; Total Employment Gains 12,800
- Labor Force Participation Rate Level
- State Employment Growth Rankings
- Nonfarm Jobs Up 14,000
- Four Industries below 2007 Pre-Recession Job Levels
- Job Gains by Wage Level
- Two-Tier Economy Persists—Central Valley Unemployment Nearly Three Times as High as Bay Area
- Bay Area Provided 39% of Net Employment Growth Since Recession
- Seven California MSAs in the 10 Worst Unemployment Rates Nationally
Unemployment Rate Improves to 4.3%; Total Employment Gains 12,800
The Labor Force data for February 2018 (seasonally adjusted; California preliminary) is shown below, along with the change from the prior month:
| Seasonally Adjusted | California | US | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 2018 | Change from Jan 2018 | Feb 2018 | Change from Jan 2018 | |
| Unemployment Rate | 4.3% | -0.1 | 4.1% | 0.0 |
| Labor Force | 19,393,000 | 0.0% | 161,921,000 | 0.5% |
| Participation Rate | 62.3% | 0.0 | 63% | 0.3 |
| Employment | 18,549,500 | 0.1% | 155,215,000 | 0.5% |
| Unemployment | 843,400 | -1.0% | 6,706,000 | 0.3% |
The related not seasonally adjusted numbers (California preliminary), with the change from February 2017:
| Not Seasonally Adjusted | California | US | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 2018 | Change from Feb 2017 | Feb 2018 | Change from Feb 2017 | |
| Unemployment Rate | 4.5% | -0.9 | 4.4% | -0.5 |
| Labor Force | 19,419,500 | 0.9% | 161,494,000 | 1.3% |
| Participation Rate | 62.3% | 0.0 | 62.9% | 0.2 |
| Employment | 18,537,500 | 1.8% | 154,403,000 | 1.9% |
| Unemployment | 882,100 | -15.5% | 7,091,000 | -10.1% |
California Employment Development Department’s (EDD) latest data shows on a seasonally adjusted basis, total employment was up 12,800 from January, while the number of unemployed dropped by 8,900. The labor force essentially stayed level with a rise of only 3,900.
California’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate improved to 4.3%, the lowest in the current data series that began in 1976, compared to January’s revised level of 4.4%. California had the 22nd highest unemployment rate among the states. The unadjusted rate dropped from 5.4% in February 2017 to 4.5%.
Total US employment saw a seasonally adjusted gain of 785,000 from January, while the number of unemployed grew by 22,000. The national unemployment rate was steady at 4.1%. The national labor force numbers rose by 806,000.
The updates reflect the annual revisions to the labor force numbers. Due to a revised seasonal adjustment procedure, the state and US numbers were revised beginning in 1976. The unadjusted series—used to compare the California geographic areas including the legislative district estimates—were revised beginning with 2010.
Labor Force Participation Rate Level
California’s participation rate (seasonally adjusted) in February remained level at 62.3%, while the US rate rose to 63.0%. The revised California rate is improved from the revised series low from 2015, but now matches levels previously seen in 1976.
State Employment Growth Rankings
| Rank | Number of Employed | Percentage Change | Population Adjusted (employment growth per 1,000 civilian noninstitutional population) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CA 321,600 | ID 3.2% | ID 20.0 |
| 2 | TX 274,200 | CO 2.9% | CO 19.2 |
| 3 | FL 190,800 | GA 2.6% | UT 17.1 |
| 4 | GA 125,400 | NV 2.6% | GA 15.7 |
| 5 | CO 83,600 | UT 2.6% | NV 15.1 |
| 6 | AZ 79,600 | AZ 2.6% | AZ 14.7 |
| 7 | NC 78,100 | TN 2.5% | TN 14.6 |
| 8 | TN 76,900 | OR 2.4% | OR 14.4 |
| 9 | WA 75,700 | WA 2.2% | WA 13.1 |
| 10 | VA 52,000 | TX 2.1% | TX 13.0 |
| 11 | OR 47,600 | LA 2.1% | LA 11.7 |
| 12 | MN 44,300 | FL 2.0% | FL 11.3 |
| 13 | LA 42,000 | CA 1.8% | CA 10.4 |
| 14 | UT 38,200 | NC 1.7% | MN 10.2 |
| 15 | WI 35,600 | OK 1.6% | NC 9.8 |
| 16 | NV 35,200 | MN 1.5% | OK 9.2 |
| 17 | OH 32,000 | NM 1.5% | DC 8.1 |
| 18 | MA 31,800 | KY 1.3% | NM 8.0 |
| 19 | MI 27,600 | VA 1.3% | VA 7.9 |
| 20 | OK 27,500 | DC 1.2% | WI 7.8 |
| 21 | ID 25,800 | WI 1.2% | KY 7.3 |
| 22 | KY 25,300 | AL 0.9% | MA 5.7 |
| 23 | IL 24,200 | SC 0.9% | SD 5.2 |
| 24 | SC 20,000 | MA 0.9% | AL 5.1 |
| 25 | AL 19,500 | DE 0.8% | SC 5.1 |
| 26 | NY 17,500 | SD 0.8% | DE 5.0 |
| 27 | MD 15,600 | WV 0.7% | RI 4.5 |
| 28 | IN 13,600 | RI 0.7% | VT 4.3 |
| 29 | NM 13,000 | VT 0.7% | WV 3.8 |
| 30 | WV 5,500 | MI 0.6% | ME 3.6 |
| 31 | DC 4,600 | OH 0.6% | OH 3.5 |
| 32 | NE 4,400 | ME 0.6% | MI 3.5 |
| 33 | ME 3,900 | MD 0.5% | MD 3.3 |
| 34 | RI 3,900 | MT 0.5% | MT 3.0 |
| 35 | DE 3,800 | NE 0.5% | NE 3.0 |
| 36 | SD 3,400 | IN 0.4% | IN 2.6 |
| 37 | AR 3,000 | IL 0.4% | IL 2.4 |
| 38 | MS 2,800 | NH 0.3% | NH 2.2 |
| 39 | MT 2,500 | AR 0.2% | AR 1.3 |
| 40 | NH 2,400 | MS 0.2% | MS 1.2 |
| US 2,704,000 | US 1.8% | US 10.6 |
Between February 2017 and February 2018, Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data shows the total number of employed in California increased by 321,600 (seasonally adjusted), or 11.9% of the total net employment gains in this period for the US. Based on the total numbers, California returned to 1st place ahead of Texas (which has a civilian working age population only 69% as large as California’s) at 274,200 and Florida (55% as large) at 190,800. Measured by percentage change in employment over the year, California improved to 13th highest. Adjusted for working age population, California also rose to 13th. All numbers reflect this year’s revisions to the labor force data.
Nonfarm Jobs Up 14,000
EDD reported that between January and February 2018, seasonally adjusted nonfarm wage and salary jobs grew 14,000. January’s gains were revised to 48,900 from the previously reported 44,300.
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 February 2017 saw the largest increases in Construction (73,500), Social Assistance (41,900), and Health Care (37,200). Declines were in Information (-5,300) and Utilities (-1,100).
| Not Seasonally Adjusted Payroll Jobs | Feb 2018 | Jan 2018 | Change Feb 2018 – Jan 2018 | Change Feb 2018 – Feb 2017 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total Farm | 357,200 | 358,300 | -1,100 | 10,400 |
| Mining and Logging | 21,200 | 21,400 | -200 | 500 |
| Construction | 834,500 | 813,500 | 21,000 | 73,400 |
| Manufacturing | 1,312,100 | 1,303,000 | 9,100 | 10,400 |
| Wholesale Trade | 724,100 | 721,800 | 2,300 | 8,800 |
| Retail Trade | 1,682,100 | 1,718,500 | -36,400 | 17,500 |
| Utilities | 57,900 | 57,900 | 0 | -1,100 |
| Transportation & Warehousing | 574,500 | 579,700 | -5,200 | 28,600 |
| Information | 531,900 | 522,800 | 9,100 | -5,300 |
| Finance & Insurance | 549,000 | 548,000 | 1,000 | 2,500 |
| Real Estate & Rental & Leasing | 284,900 | 285,000 | -100 | 7,500 |
| Professional, Scientific & Technical Services | 1,246,400 | 1,236,600 | 9,800 | 33,300 |
| Management of Companies & Enterprises | 232,300 | 233,200 | -900 | 1,100 |
| Administrative & Support & Waste Services | 1,103,000 | 1,090,500 | 12,500 | 25,900 |
| Educational Services | 384,000 | 369,300 | 14,700 | 14,300 |
| Health Care | 1,520,200 | 1,516,800 | 3,400 | 37,200 |
| Social Assistance | 800,600 | 794,100 | 6,500 | 41,900 |
| Arts, Entertainment & Recreation | 304,900 | 300,600 | 4,300 | 14,600 |
| Accommodation | 228,100 | 226,600 | 1,500 | 6,700 |
| Food Services | 1,421,200 | 1,404,400 | 16,800 | 37,200 |
| Other Services | 558,900 | 557,200 | 1,700 | 4,100 |
| Government | 2,595,600 | 2,574,000 | 21,600 | 32,000 |
| Total Nonfarm | 16,967,400 | 16,874,900 | 92,500 | 391,100 |
| Total Wage and Salary | 17,324,600 | 17,233,200 | 91,400 | 401,500 |
At 383,600, California showed the highest increase in seasonally adjusted nonfarm jobs among the states from February 2017 to February 2018, ahead of Texas at 285,200. By percentage growth in jobs, California rose to 8th highest at 2.3%, above the US average of 1.6%. By population adjusted jobs growth, California rose to 9th highest.
| Rank | Number of Jobs | Employment Growth (%) | Population Adjusted (job growth per 1,000 civilian noninstitutional population) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CA 383,600 | ID 3.4% | UT 20.7 |
| 2 | TX 285,200 | NV 3.2% | ID 18.6 |
| 3 | FL 167,800 | UT 3.2% | NV 18.5 |
| 4 | NY 109,600 | WA 2.9% | WA 16.7 |
| 5 | WA 96,800 | CO 2.4% | CO 14.5 |
| 6 | GA 88,200 | TX 2.3% | TX 13.5 |
| 7 | PA 81,400 | OR 2.3% | OR 13.2 |
| 8 | NC 71,300 | CA 2.3% | DC 12.5 |
| 9 | CO 63,400 | AZ 2.3% | CA 12.4 |
| 10 | NJ 63,200 | GA 2.0% | AZ 11.4 |
| 11 | AZ 61,900 | FL 2.0% | GA 11.1 |
| 12 | MI 52,000 | OK 1.9% | WY 10.5 |
| 13 | IL 48,700 | WY 1.7% | OK 10.5 |
| 14 | OH 46,500 | NC 1.6% | FL 10.0 |
| 15 | UT 46,200 | SC 1.6% | SD 9.3 |
| 16 | TN 45,000 | NJ 1.5% | NC 8.9 |
| 17 | OR 43,700 | TN 1.5% | NJ 8.8 |
| 18 | NV 43,000 | SD 1.4% | SC 8.6 |
| 19 | MA 39,100 | NH 1.4% | NH 8.6 |
| 20 | VA 36,300 | PA 1.4% | TN 8.6 |
| 21 | SC 33,800 | HI 1.4% | HI 8.1 |
| 22 | OK 31,300 | NM 1.4% | PA 7.9 |
| 23 | IN 30,900 | RI 1.3% | RI 7.3 |
| 24 | MO 27,300 | MS 1.2% | MA 7.0 |
| 25 | ID 24,000 | MI 1.2% | NM 7.0 |
| 26 | MN 21,700 | NY 1.2% | NY 6.9 |
| 27 | WI 19,200 | MT 1.1% | MI 6.6 |
| 28 | AL 16,900 | MA 1.1% | MT 6.4 |
| 29 | MS 14,300 | IN 1.0% | MS 6.3 |
| 30 | NM 11,300 | WV 1.0% | IN 6.0 |
| 31 | IA 9,900 | MO 1.0% | MO 5.7 |
| 32 | NH 9,400 | VA 0.9% | VA 5.5 |
| 33 | HI 8,900 | DC 0.9% | OH 5.1 |
| US 2,281,000 | US 1.6% | US 9.0 |
Four Industries Below 2007 Pre-Recession Job Levels
Comparing the number of jobs by industry in February 2018 (not seasonally adjusted), 4 industries had employment below the 2007 pre-recession levels. The highest gain industries were led by Health Care (with a relatively higher mix of lower and higher wage occupations), lower wage Food Services and 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 losses, however, have continued to contract but still remain 45,400 below the 2007 level, and 131,800 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, over half (57%) of net jobs growth since the recession has been in the lower wage industries. For the 12 months ending February 2018, lower wage industries accounted just under a third (29%) of new jobs, while middle class-blue collar jobs produced just over another third (36%) as a result of improvements in Construction.
Two-Tier Economy Persists—Central Valley Unemployment Nearly 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 3.0% in the Bay Area to nearly three times as large at 8.9% in the Central Valley.
| Not Seasonally Adjusted | Unemployment Rate (%) February 2018 |
|---|---|
| California | 4.5 |
| Bay Area | 3.0 |
| Orange County | 3.1 |
| San Diego/Imperial | 4.0 |
| Sacramento | 4.2 |
| Inland Empire | 4.4 |
| Los Angeles | 4.5 |
| Central Sierra | 5.0 |
| Upstate California | 6.6 |
| Central Coast | 7.2 |
| Central Valley | 8.9 |
By Legislative District:
| Lowest 10 Unemployment Rates | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CD18 (Eshoo-D) | 2.4 | SD13 (Hill-D) | 2.2 | AD22 (Mullin-D) | 2.1 |
| CD12 (Pelosi-D) | 2.4 | SD11 (Wiener-D) | 2.6 | AD16 (Baker-R) | 2.1 |
| CD52 (Peters-D) | 2.6 | SD39 (Atkins-D) | 2.7 | AD24 (Berman-D) | 2.3 |
| CD14 (Speier-D) | 2.6 | SD36 (Bates-R) | 2.7 | AD28 (Low-D) | 2.5 |
| CD45 (Walters-R) | 2.7 | SD37 (Moorlach-R) | 2.8 | AD17 (Chiu-D) | 2.6 |
| CD17 (Khanna-D) | 2.7 | SD10 (Wieckowski-D) | 3.0 | AD77 (Maienschein-R) | 2.6 |
| CD49 (Issa-R) | 2.7 | SD07 (Glazer-D) | 3.0 | AD73 (Brough-R) | 2.6 |
| CD15 (Swalwell-D) | 2.7 | SD15 (Beall-D) | 3.1 | AD78 (Gloria-D) | 2.6 |
| CD48 (Rohrabacher-R) | 2.9 | SD34 (Nguyen-R) | 3.3 | AD19 (Ting-D) | 2.7 |
| CD02 (Huffman-D) | 3.3 | SD38 (Anderson-R) | 3.4 | AD25 (Chu-D) | 2.7 |
| Highest 10 Unemployment Rates | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CD03 (Garamendi-D) | 6.0 | SD30 (Mitchell-D) | 5.3 | AD03 (Gallagher-R) | 7.3 |
| CD44 (Barragán-D) | 6.3 | SD17 (Monning-D) | 5.4 | AD34 (Fong-R) | 7.6 |
| CD09 (McNerney-D) | 6.5 | SD35 (Bradford-D) | 5.6 | AD13 (Eggman-D) | 7.7 |
| CD10 (Denham-R) | 6.9 | SD04 (Nielsen-R) | 5.8 | AD30 (Caballero-D) | 7.8 |
| CD51 (Vargas-D) | 8.1 | SD05 (Galgiani-D) | 6.9 | AD23 (Patterson-R) | 7.8 |
| CD23 (McCarthy-R) | 8.2 | SD40 (Hueso-D) | 7.0 | AD56 (Garcia-D) | 9.0 |
| CD20 (Panetta-D) | 8.7 | SD08 (Berryhill-R) | 7.1 | AD21 (Gray-D) | 10.1 |
| CD22 (Nunes-R) | 8.9 | SD16 (Fuller-R) | 8.1 | AD31 (Arambula-D) | 10.7 |
| CD16 (Costa-D) | 10.4 | SD12 (Cannella-R) | 9.7 | AD26 (Mathis-R) | 10.9 |
| CD21 (Valadao-R) | 11.3 | SD14 (Vidak-R) | 12.2 | AD32 (Salas-D) | 11.7 |
Bay Area Provided 39% of Net Employment Growth Since Recession
Containing 19.4% of the state’s population, the Bay Area was responsible for 39.1% 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 19.0%. Inland Empire is the only other region continuing to show employment gains above their population share, while the revised numbers show Central Valley matching its population share.
Seven 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, 7 are in California. Of the 20 worst, 10 are in California.
| Rank | Metropolitan Area | January 2018 Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 368 | Modesto, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area | 7.4 |
| 368 | Weirton-Steubenville, WV-OH Metropolitan Statistical Area | 7.4 |
| 371 | Fairbanks, AK Metropolitan Statistical Area | 7.5 |
| 372 | McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX Metropolitan Statistical Area | 7.6 |
| 373 | Atlantic City-Hammonton, NJ Metropolitan Statistical Area | 7.7 |
| 374 | Youngstown-Warren-Boardman, OH-PA Metropolitan Statistical Area | 7.8 |
| 375 | Madera, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area | 8.0 |
| 376 | Vineland-Bridgeton, NJ Metropolitan Statistical Area | 8.1 |
| 377 | Watertown-Fort Drum, NY Metropolitan Statistical Area | 8.4 |
| 378 | Yuba City, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area | 8.6 |
| 379 | Fresno, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area | 8.7 |
| 380 | Hanford-Corcoran, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area | 9.0 |
| 381 | Bakersfield, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area | 9.2 |
| 382 | Yakima, WA Metropolitan Statistical Area | 9.4 |
| 383 | Salinas, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area | 9.5 |
| 384 | Merced, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area | 9.9 |
| 385 | Visalia-Porterville, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area | 10.9 |
| 386 | Ocean City, NJ Metropolitan Statistical Area | 14.4 |
| 387 | Yuma, AZ Metropolitan Statistical Area | 14.6 |
| 388 | El Centro, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area | 17.0 |
Note: All data sources, methodologies, and historical data series available at CenterforJobs.org.