03/28/2024

Reports » Job Reports

July 2017 Job Report

Highlights for policy makers:

 

Unemployment Rate Rises to 4.8%; Total Employment Drops 24,900

The Labor Force data for July 2017 (seasonally adjusted; California preliminary) is shown below, along with the change from the prior month:

Seasonally Adjusted California US
Jul 2017 Change from Jun 2017 Jul 2017 Change from Jun 2017
Unemployment Rate 4.8% 0.1 4.3% -0.1
Labor Force 19,136,400 0.0% 160,494,000 0.2%
Participation Rate 61.9% 0.0 62.9% 0.1
Employment 18,211,700 -0.1% 153,513,000 0.2%
Unemployment 924,700 2.6% 6,981,000 0.1%
Source: California Employment Development Department; US Bureau of Labor Statistics

The related not seasonally adjusted numbers (California preliminary), with the change from July 2016:

Not Seasonally Adjusted California US
Jul 2017 Change from Jul 2016 Jul 2017 Change from Jul 2016
Unemployment Rate 5.4% -0.4 4.6% -0.5
Labor Force 19,285,000 0.4% 161,911,000 0.8%
Participation Rate 62.3% -0.3 63.5% 0.1
Employment 18,251,500 0.9% 154,470,000 1.3%
Unemployment 1,033,500 -7.3% 7,441,000 -10.0%
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 dropped 24,900 from June, while the number of unemployed rose by 23,500. The labor force remained essentially unchanged with a decline of only 1,400.

California’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rose a tenth of a point to 4.8%. California tied with Delaware and Nevada for the 11th highest unemployment rate among the states. The unadjusted rate dropped from 5.8% in July 2016 to 5.4%.

Total US employment saw a seasonally adjusted increase of 345,000 from June, while the number of unemployed was largely unchanged with an increase of only 4,000. The national unemployment rate was down 0.1 point to 4.3%. The national labor force numbers expanded by 349,000.

Labor Force Participation Rate at Lowest Level Since 1976

California’s participation rate (seasonally adjusted) in July was unchanged at 61.9%, while the US rate rose to 62.9%.

The seasonally adjusted California participation rate in July remained at its lowest level since 1976.

State Employment Growth Rankings—California Drops to 5th Place

Change in Employment, July 2016 – July 2017
Rank Number of Employed Percentage Change Population Adjusted
(employment growth per 1,000 civilian
noninstitutional population)
1 FL 364,100 OR 4.5% CO 27.0
2 TX 182,600 CO 4.2% OR 26.8
3 NY162,800 UT 4.0% UT 26.2
4 GA 143,400 FL 3.9% FL 21.9
5 CA 140,100 KY 3.1% GA 18.2
6 CO 116,900 GA 3.1% KY 17.1
7 VA 96,600 AR 3.0% AR 17.0
8 WA 92,500 WA 2.7% DC 16.6
9 OR 88,100 DC 2.5% WA 16.1
10 MA 77,700 MD 2.5% MD 15.8
11 NC 76,500 WI 2.4% WI 15.6
12 MD 74,700 VA 2.4% VA 14.8
13 MI 71,500 AZ 2.3% CT 14.3
14 AZ 71,100 CT 2.3% MA 14.1
15 WI 71,100 MA 2.2% AZ 13.2
16 KY 59,000 ME 2.0% MN 12.6
17 UT 57,800 NV 2.0% ME 12.1
18 MN 54,300 RI 1.9% RI 11.7
19 OH 47,900 MN 1.9% NV 11.5
20 IN 47,700 SC 1.9% SC 10.5
21 TN 43,900 NY 1.8% NY 10.3
22 PA 43,600 NC 1.7% ND 10.1
23 SC 41,000 MI 1.6% NC 9.7
24 CT 40,900 IN 1.5% IN 9.3
25 NJ 39,500 HI 1.5% MI 9.1
26 AR 39,200 TN 1.5% HI 9.0
27 NV 26,400 ND 1.5% TX 8.7
28 AL 21,500 TX 1.4% TN 8.4
29 MS 17,000 MS 1.4% AK 8.1
30 ME 13,300 AK 1.3% ID 7.6
31 RI 10,000 ID 1.2% MS 7.4
32 HI 9,800 AL 1.1% AL 5.6
33 ID 9,700 NM 1.0% NJ 5.6
34 DC 9,300 NJ 0.9% NM 5.3
35 KS 9,200 OH 0.9% OH 5.2
36 NM 8,500 WV 0.8% CA 4.6
37 OK 6,600 CA 0.8% PA 4.3
38 WV 6,000 PA 0.7% SD 4.3
39 ND 5,900 KS 0.6% KS 4.2
40 AK 4,400 SD 0.6% WV 4.1
US 1,967,000  US 1.3%  US 7.8
Source: US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Seasonally Adjusted

Between July 2016 and July 2017, Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data shows the total number of employed in California increased by 140,100 (seasonally adjusted), or 7.1% of the total net employment gains in this period for the US. California dropped to 5th place behind Florida (which has a civilian working age population only 55% as large as California’s) at 400,700, Texas (68% as large) at 220,800, New York at 162,800, and Georgia at 143,400. Measured by percentage change in employment over the year, California remained at 37th highest. Adjusted for working age population, California remained at 36th.

Nonfarm Jobs Up 82,600

EDD reported that between June and July 2017, seasonally adjusted nonfarm wage and salary jobs grew by 82,600. June’s losses were revised to 3,200 from the previously reported loss of 1,400.

Looking at the not seasonally adjusted nonfarm numbers, hiring saw increases in all but three industries over the year. The change in total payroll jobs from July 2016 saw the largest increases in Construction (48,900), Government (44,900), and Food Services (42,600). Declines continued in Manufacturing (-13,700), Mining & Logging (-1,300), and Utilities (-700).

Not Seasonally Adjusted Payroll Jobs Jul 2017 Jun 2017 Change Jul 2017 – Jun 2017 Change Jul 2017 – Jul 2016
Total Farm 485,100 486,100 -1,000 4,200
Mining and Logging 23,800 23,700 100 -1,300
Construction 841,900 827,700 14,200 48,900
Manufacturing 1,308,100 1,299,900 8,200 -13,700
Wholesale Trade 737,900 737,400 500 13,600
Retail Trade 1,671,500 1,666,300 5,200 1,800
Utilities 58,300 58,300 0 -700
Transportation & Warehousing 534,500 536,300 -1,800 6,100
Information 529,500 525,300 4,200 7,300
Finance & Insurance 549,300 548,000 1,300 1,900
Real Estate & Rental & Leasing 285,200 282,300 2,900 3,400
Professional, Scientific & Technical Services 1,232,200 1,229,300 2,900 1,100
Management of Companies & Enterprises 231,400 229,500 1,900 4,600
Administrative & Support & Waste Services 1,098,400 1,103,600 -5,200 15,400
Educational Services 341,500 357,700 -16,200 21,900
Health Care 1,486,000 1,482,400 3,600 22,900
Social Assistance 752,500 752,600 -100 36,400
Arts, Entertainment & Recreation 323,700 316,200 7,500 9,000
Accommodation 230,400 231,300 -900 2,100
Food Services 1,431,100 1,422,300 8,800 42,600
Other Services 580,000 579,800 200 19,100
Government 2,422,500 2,593,600 -171,100 44,900
Total Nonfarm 16,669,700 16,803,500 -133,800 287,300
Total Wage and Salary 17,154,800 17,289,600 -134,800 291,500
Source: California Employment Development Department

By total number of new jobs, California continued to show the second highest increase in seasonally adjusted nonfarm jobs among the states from July 2016 to July 2017, at 276,400 or 12.8% of the US net increase. Texas led jobs growth with 293,400 jobs and Florida was third with 226,200. By percentage growth in jobs, California rose to 16th highest at 1.9%, above the US average of 1.5%. By population adjusted jobs growth, California rose to 20th highest, slightly above the US average.

Change in Nonfarm Jobs (seasonally adjusted), July 2016 – July 2017
Rank Number of Jobs Employment Growth (%) Population Adjusted
(jobs growth per 1,000 civilian
noninstitutional population)
1 TX 293,400 OR 2.9% DC 33.4
2 CA 276,400 NV 2.7% UT 16.5
3 FL 226,200 FL 2.7% OR 16.2
4 NY 138,100 AR 2.7% NV 15.5
5 GA 96,200 UT 2.5% AR 14.2
6 WA 71,300 TX 2.4% TX 14.1
7 NC 64,400 DC 2.4% MN 14.0
8 MI 62,400 ID 2.3% FL 13.6
9 PA 61,600 WA 2.2% WA 12.4
10 MN 60,400 GA 2.2% ID 12.3
11 VA 60,300 MN 2.1% MO 12.2
12 MO 58,200 MO 2.0% GA 12.2
13 OR 53,400 MD 1.9% ND 11.3
14 MD 51,000 NH 1.8% NH 10.9
15 TN 49,100 RI 1.7% MD 10.8
16 OH 47,500 CA 1.7% CO 10.0
17 NJ 47,300 CO 1.7% RI 9.9
18 MA 45,200 TN 1.7% TN 9.4
19 CO 43,400 AL 1.6% VA 9.2
20 UT 36,300 VA 1.5% CA 9.0
21 NV 35,700 ND 1.5% NY 8.7
22 AZ 33,300 NC 1.5% NE 8.7
23 IL 33,200 NY 1.5% AL 8.2
24 AR 32,700 SC 1.4% MA 8.2
25 AL 31,400 MI 1.4% NC 8.2
26 SC 29,800 MA 1.3% MI 7.9
27 IN 27,300 HI 1.2% SC 7.7
28 WI 26,500 NE 1.2% HI 7.4
29 KY 23,300 AZ 1.2% KY 6.7
30 DC 18,700 KY 1.2% NJ 6.7
31 OK 18,200 NJ 1.2% IA 6.5
32 IA 15,900 MT 1.1% MT 6.3
33 ID 15,700 OK 1.1% AZ 6.2
US 2,158,000 US 1.5% US 8.5
Source: US Bureau of Labor Statistics

Six Industries Below 2007 Pre-Recession Job Levels

Source: California Employment Development Department, Wage & Salary Jobs (seasonally adjusted), wages are running 4 quarter average from QCEW wage data

Comparing the number of jobs by industry in July 2017 (not seasonally adjusted), 6 industries had employment below the 2007 pre-recession levels. The highest gain industries were led by lower wage Food Services, Health Care (with 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 continued to lose ground.

Job Gains by Wage Level

In the recent May Budget Revision, the Governor again pointed to the increasing share of lower wage jobs as one of the prime causes of slowing state revenues growth: The level of wages has been revised downward, and cash receipts have been significantly below forecast. The following chart illustrates this trend for total wage and salary jobs, according to the industry wage classification used previously in other Center analyses of this issue. As indicated, over half of jobs growth over the past 12 months has been in the low wage industries. Middle Class-blue collar jobs show a decline.

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

Two-Tier Economy Persists

Unemployment rates (all data is not seasonally adjusted) continue to vary widely across the state, ranging from 3.9% in the Bay Area to more than twice as large at 8.9% in the Central Valley.

Not Seasonally Adjusted Unemployment Rate (%) MAY 2017
California 5.4
Bay Area 3.9
Orange County 4.2
Sacramento Region 5.1
Los Angeles 5.2
Central Coast 5.3
Central Sierra 5.4
San Diego/Imperial 5.6
Inland Empire 6.1
Upstate California 6.5
Central Valley 8.9

By Legislative District:

Lowest 10 Unemployment Rates
CD18 (Eshoo-D) 3.0 SD13 (Hill-D) 3.0 AD16 (Baker-R) 2.8
CD12 (Pelosi-D) 3.2 SD11 (Wiener-D) 3.5 AD22 (Mullin-D) 2.9
CD52 (Peters-D) 3.4 SD39 (Atkins-D) 3.7 AD24 (Berman-D) 3.1
CD45 (Walters-R) 3.5 SD37 (Moorlach-R) 3.7 AD28 (Low-D) 3.2
CD14 (Speier-D) 3.5 SD36 (Bates-R) 3.8 AD77 (Maienschein-R) 3.4
CD17 (Khanna-D) 3.5 SD26 (Allen-D) 3.9 AD17 (Chiu-D) 3.4
CD33 (Lieu-D) 3.8 SD07 (Glazer-D) 4.0 AD19 (Ting-D) 3.5
CD15 (Swalwell-D) 3.8 SD15 (Beall-D) 4.0 AD78 (Gloria-D) 3.5
CD49 (Issa-R) 3.8 SD10 (Wieckowski-D) 4.0 AD73 (Brough-R) 3.6
CD27 (Chu-D) 4.0 SD02 (McGuire-D) 4.2 AD25 (Chu-D) 3.6
Highest 10 Unemployment Rates
CD36 (Ruiz-D) 6.8 SD31 (Roth-D) 6.1 AD03 (Gallagher-R) 7.3
CD41 (Takano-D) 6.8 SD04 (Nielsen-R) 6.2 AD64 (Gipson-D) 7.5
CD09 (McNerney-D) 7.2 SD21 (Wilk-R) 6.3 AD23 (Patterson-R) 7.6
CD44 (Barragán-D) 7.3 SD35 (Bradford-D) 6.4 AD34 (Fong-R) 7.7
CD10 (Denham-R) 7.5 SD08 (Berryhill-R) 7.3 AD13 (Eggman-D) 8.2
CD23 (McCarthy-R) 8.4 SD05 (Galgiani-D) 7.5 AD21 (Gray-D) 9.8
CD22 (Nunes-R) 8.5 SD12 (Cannella-R) 8.1 AD31 (Arambula-D) 10.0
CD16 (Costa-D) 9.9 SD16 (Fuller-R) 8.2 AD26 (Mathis-R) 10.5
CD21 (Valadao-R) 10.9 SD40 (Hueso-D) 9.7 AD32 (Salas-D) 11.5
CD51 (Vargas-D) 11.5 SD14 (Vidak-R) 11.9 AD56 (Garcia-D) 13.3

Bay Area Provided 44% of Net Employment Growth Since Recession

Containing just under 20% of the state’s population, the Bay Area was responsible for 43.6% of the net growth in employment since the pre-recession peaks in 2007.  Los Angeles Region provided the next largest share at 22.0%, but spread over 29.2% of the population.  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.

US Rank MSA June 2017 Rate
378 Yuba City, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area 8.0
380 Madera, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area 8.1
381 McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX Metropolitan Statistical Area 8.3
382 Fresno, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area 8.4
383 Hanford-Corcoran, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area 9.2
384 Merced, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area 9.4
385 Bakersfield, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area 9.5
386 Visalia-Porterville, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area 9.9
387 Yuma, AZ Metropolitan Statistical Area 20.5
388 El Centro, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area 20.8

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