03/29/2024

Reports » Job Reports

January 2016

Highlights for policy makers:

Unemployment Rate Declines to 5.7%; Total Employment Grows 52,400

The Labor Force data for January 2016 (seasonally adjusted; California preliminary) is shown below, along with the change from the prior month:

Seasonally Adjusted California US
  Jan 2016 Change from Dec 2015 Jan 2016 Change from Dec 2015
Unemployment Rate 5.7 -0.2 4.9 -0.1
Labor Force 19,018,800 0.1% 158,335,000 0.3%
Participation Rate n/a n/a 62.7 0.1
Employment 17,930,000 0.3% 150,544,000 0.4%
Unemployment 1,088,800 -3.1% 7,791,000 -1.4%
Source: California Employment Development Department; US Bureau of Labor Statistics

The related not seasonally adjusted numbers (California preliminary), with the change from January 2015:

Not Seasonally Adjusted California US
  Jan 2016 Change from Jan 2015 Jan 2016 Change from Jan 2015
Unemployment Rate 5.9 -1.4 5.3 -0.8
Labor Force 18,881,300 0.0% 157,347,000 0.8%
Participation Rate n/a n/a 62.3 -0.2
Employment 17,772,300 1.5% 149,037,000 1.7%
Unemployment 1,109,000 -19.2% 8,309,000 -12.5%
Source: California Employment Development Department; US Bureau of Labor Statistics

California Employment Development Department’s (EDD) latest release shows on a seasonally adjusted basis, total employment grew by 52,400 from December, while the number of unemployed dropped by 35,500.  California’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate declined from 5.9% in December to 5.7% in January.  The unadjusted rate decreased from 7.3% in January 2015 to 5.9% in January 2016.

Total US employment saw a seasonally adjusted increase of 615,000, while the number of unemployed dropped by 113,000.  California provided 8.5% of the total national employment increase.

California’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 16.3% higher than the national rate.   

Look at the unadjusted numbers, California’s labor force remained essentially unchanged for the year, while nationally, the labor force expanded by 0.8%.

Nonfarm Jobs Decrease by 1,500

EDD reported that between December 2015 and January 2016, seasonally adjusted nonfarm payroll jobs decreased by 1,500, while the unadjusted numbers showed seasonal losses in all industries but one.  The December job gains were revised to 47,700 from the previously reported 60,400.    

Looking at the not seasonally adjusted numbers, the change in total payroll jobs from December 2015 saw a positive gain only in Total Farm (2,600).  Biggest declines were in Retail Trade (-85,400) as holiday hiring wound down, Administrative, Support & Waste Services (-49,400), and Arts, Entertainment & Recreation (-16,200).  Year to year gains, however, were positive in all industries except Mining & Logging (-4,700).

Not Seasonally Adjusted Payroll Jobs Dec 2015 Jan 2016 Change Jan 2016 – Dec 2015 Change Jan 2016 – Jan 2015
Total Farm 354,200 356,800 2,600 1,400
Mining & Logging 27,300 25,700 -1,600 -4,700
Construction 743,600 728,900 -14,700 47,800
Manufacturing 1,284,300 1,276,500 -7,800 5,400
Wholesale Trade 731,600 723,300 -8,300 15,000
Retail Trade 1,760,800 1,675,400 -85,400 25,800
Transportation, Warehousing & Utilities 577,800 562,600 -15,200 25,000
Information 490,800 482,500 -8,300 16,200
Finance & Insurance 531,000 526,700 -4,300 7,100
Real Estate & Rental & Leasing 275,800 270,800 -5,000 6,900
Professional, Scientific & Technical Services 1,231,200 1,223,400 -7,800 44,500
Management of Companies & Enterprises 232,000 231,400 -600 3,900
Administrative & Support & Waste Services 1,101,100 1,051,700 -49,400 30,500
Educational Services 361,900 348,300 -13,600 12,100
Health Care & Social Assistance 2,159,400 2,148,600 -10,800 88,400
   Individual & Family Services 589,200 585,400 -3,800 30,200
Arts, Entertainment, & Recreation 295,700 279,500 -16,200 10,300
Accommodation & Food Service 1,560,400 1,545,200 -15,200 68,200
Other Services 545,400 538,200 -7,200 6,900
Government 2,497,700 2,481,800 -15,900 35,600
Total Nonfarm 16,407,800 16,120,500 -287,300 444,900
Total Wage & Salary 16,762,000 16,477,300 -284,700 446,300
Source: California Employment Development Department

13 Counties in Double-Digit Unemployment; 13 are 5% or Less

Two-Tier Economy Persists

Unemployment rates (all data is not seasonally adjusted) continue to vary widely across the state, ranging from 4.0% in the Bay Area to more than double at 10.5% in the Central Valley.

Not Seasonally Adjusted Unemployment Rate (%) January 2016
California 5.9
Bay Area 4.0
Orange County 4.0
San Diego/Imperial 5.4
Sacramento Region 5.5
Inland Empire 5.8
Los Angeles 5.9
Central Sierra 6.7
Upstate California 8.5
Central Coast 8.6
Central Valley 10.5


Ratio of Highest to Lowest Rate: 2.64

By County:

Lowest 3 Unemployment Rates
San Mateo County 3.1
Marin County 3.2
San Francisco County 3.3
Highest 3 Unemployment Rates
Plumas County 13.9
Imperial County 19.2
Colusa County 22.4


Ratio of Highest to Lowest Rate: 7.23

By Legislative District:

Lowest 10 Unemployment Rates
SD 13 (Hill – D) 2.9 AD 22 (Mullin – D) 2.9
SD 11 (Leno – D) 3.4 AD 16 (Baker – R) 2.9
SD 37 (Moorlach – R) 3.5 AD 24 (Gordon – D) 3.0
SD 39 (Block – D) 3.8 AD 28 (Low – D) 3.1
SD 36 (Bates – R) 3.8 AD 17 (Chiu – D) 3.4
SD 15 (Beall – D) 4.0 AD 74 (Harper – R) 3.4
SD 07 (Glazer – D) 4.1 AD 19 (Ting – D) 3.4
SD 10 (Wieckowski – D) 4.1 AD 77 (Maienschein – R) 3.4
SD 26 (Allen – D) 4.4 AD 73 (Brough – R) 3.4
SD 29 (Huff – R) 4.5 AD 68 (Wagner – R) 3.5
Highest 10 Unemployment Rates
SD 24 (de León – D) 6.9 AD 34 (Grove – R) 8.7
SD 33 (Lara – D) 6.9 AD 03 (Gallagher – R) 9.2
SD 35 (Hall – D) 7.1 AD 30 (Alejo – D) 9.4
SD 04 (Nielsen – R) 7.4 AD 23 (Patterson – R) 9.4
SD 05 (Galgiani – D) 8.8 AD 13 (Eggman – D) 9.6
SD 08 (Berryhill – R) 8.9 AD 56 (Garcia – D) 11.6
SD 40 (Hueso – D) 8.9 AD 26 (Mathis – R) 11.9
SD 16 (Fuller – R) 9.2 AD 31 (Vacant – D) 12.0
SD 12 (Cannella – R) 11.3 AD 21 (Gray – D) 12.2
SD 14 (Vidak – R) 13.4 AD 32 (Salas – D) 13.0

Ratio of Highest to Lowest Rate: Senate 4.60
Ratio of Highest to Lowest Rate: Assembly 4.57

Annual Data Revisions

EDD and BLS have begun releasing their annual data revisions, for the 2015 benchmark series.  Labor force revisions have been issued for 2015 (not seasonally adjusted data), and along with revisions to employment by industry.  Additional revisions will be released along with the next monthly labor force data releases on March 18 and April 15.  Due to continuing adjustments to the state-funded In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) employment, EDD indicates the associated data series for MSAs will not be available until this summer.

The 2015 labor force revisions released so far for California show no significant change to the average numbers for the year.  The revisions show slightly higher employment in the first part of the year and slightly lower than previously reported in the second, but these shifts essentially net out on average.

There are regional differences, however.  On average over the year, half the regions show slightly higher employment, offset by those now reporting slightly lower.  Inland Empire showed the strongest gains, with employment revised upwards by 0.8%.  Almost all regions also had their number of unemployed by 2-3%, while Los Angeles was revised downwards by 3.2%.  These changes produced a net change of 0.1-0.2 percentage points in the average unemployment rate.

Region Labor Force Employment Unemployed Unemployment Rate
California 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0
Bay Area -0.1% -0.2% 2.7% 0.1
Central Coast 0.6% 0.4% 2.7% 0.1
Central Sierra 0.6% 0.5% 2.1% 0.1
Central Valley 0.6% 0.4% 2.7% 0.2
Inland Empire 0.9% 0.8% 2.6% 0.1
Los Angeles -0.5% -0.3% -3.2% -0.2
Orange County 0.0% -0.1% 2.7% 0.1
Sacramento 0.4% 0.3% 2.6% 0.1
San Diego/Imperial -0.1% -0.3% 3.0% 0.2
Upstate California -0.1% -0.3% 2.2% 0.2

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