10/15/2024

Reports » Job Reports

June 2014

Highlights for policy makers:

Unemployment Rate Declines to 7.4%

The Labor Force data for June 2014 (seasonally adjusted; California preliminary) is shown below, along with the change from the prior month:

California US

Jun 2014 Change from May 2014 Jun 2014 Change from May 2014
Unemployment Rate 7.4 -0.2 6.1 -0.2
Labor Force 18,618,600 -0.2% 155,694,000 0.1%
Participation Rate 62.1 -0.2 62.8 0.0
Employment 17,240,700 0.0% 146,221,000 0.3%
Unemployment 1,378,000 -3.2% 9,474,000 -3.3%

Source: California Employment Development Department

The related not seasonally adjusted numbers (California preliminary), with the change from June 2013:

California US

Jun 2014 Change from Jun 2013 Jun 2014 Change from Jun 2013
Unemployment Rate 7.3 -1.9 6.3 -1.5
Labor Force 18,600,300 -0.4% 156,997,000 -0.1%
Participation Rate 62.0 -1.0 63.4 -0.6
Employment 17,243,600 1.7% 147,104,000 1.6%
Unemployment 1,356,700 -21.1% 9,893,000 -19.2%

Source: California Employment Development Department

California Employment Development Department’s (EDD) latest release shows generally continued improvement in the state’s labor force statistics. Total employment continues to improve in line with the national numbers. California’s unemployment rate of 7.4% (seasonally adjusted) is the lowest it has been since Q3 2008.

California’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate remains 21% higher than the national rate. California was tied with District of Columbia, Georgia, and Kentucky with the 5th highest among the states, ahead of Michigan (7.5%), Nevada (7.7%), Mississippi (7.9%), and Rhode Island (7.9%).

Between June 2013 and June 2014, BLS data shows the total number of employed increased by 288,500 (not seasonally adjusted). This increase was the second highest among the states, behind Texas (307,700) and just ahead of Florida (276,900).

More Californians Leave Labor Force

While the total number of unemployed continue to decline both on a seasonally adjusted and not seasonally adjusted basis, a major factor in the unemployment rate drop is the continued weakening in the Labor Force Participation Rate. Rather than keeping pace with population growth, on a not seasonally adjusted basis, the Labor Force shrank by 73,500 compared to June 2013.

Labor Force Participation rate is determined by dividing the number of persons in the Civilian Labor Force by the number of persons aged 16 and over. The rate is a measure of the potentially eligible work force who are employed or looking for employment.

Middle Class Jobs Still Below Pre-Recession Levels

Job growth (not seasonally adjusted) continued its positive trend over the past 12 months for most industries except Farm, Manufacturing, and Finance and Insurance. Compared to the pre-recession 2007 annual average, Total Nonfarm jobs increased 137,200. In this same period, however, total population in California increased an estimated 1.73 million people.

Jun 2014 Change Jun 2014
– Jun 2013 ave
Change Jun 2014
– 2007 ave
Total Farm 473,400 -2,500 89,700
Mining and Logging 32,000 700 5,300
Construction 669,900 29,500 -222,700
Manufacturing 1,251,800 -3,800 -212,600
Wholesale Trade 715,700 14,800 400
Retail Trade 1,608,500 23,400 -81,400
Transportation, Warehousing and Utilities 516,600 17,700 8,900
Information 470,800 22,800 -300
Finance and Insurance 512,600 -13,500 -100,500
Real Estate and Rental and Leasing 267,100 6,200 -16,400
Professional, Scientific and Technical Services 1,177,800 40,900 117,700
Management of Companies and Enterprises 225,100 8,400 66,100
Administrative and Support and Waste Services 1,019,000 45,200 20,100
Educational Services 350,300 17,300 61,000
Health Care and Social Assistance 2,029,700 80,600 405,800
    Individual & Family Services 536,100 40,100 207,400
Arts, Entertainment & Recreation 285,900 8,200 33,800
Accommodation & Food Service 1,462,000 33,700 153,700
Other Services 529,300 9,000 17,100
Government 2,423,900 15,800 -70,700
    Total Nonfarm 15,548,000 356,900 137,200
    Total Wage & Salary 16,021,400 354,400 227,000

Source: California Employment Development Department

Jobs growth continues to be concentrated in the higher wage (Professional, Scientific and Technical Services) and lower wage (Accommodation and Food Service) industries. About 11 percent of Total Nonfarm growth comes from Individual & Family Services, the industry containing the IHSS (In Home Supportive Services) employment numbers added by EDD in their March 2014 revision. Even with improvement in Construction, that middle class job sector remains 222,700 below the 2007 average of 892,600. Other industries still below their 2007 pre-recession level are Manufacturing, Finance and Insurance, Retail Trade, Real Estate and Rental and Leasing, Information, and Government. Wholesale Trade began showing a slight positive growth over 2007 with the June 2014 numbers.

Two-Tier Economy Continues

Unemployment rates and employment (all data is not seasonally adjusted) continue to vary widely across the state, although the spread between regions dropped from 2.18 in May to 2.06 in June. Unemployment rates increased slightly in most regions except Central Sierra and Upstate California which went down, and Central Coast and Central Valley which remained the same.

Region Unemployment Rate (%) Jun 2014
California 7.3
Orange County 5.2
Bay Area 5.3
San Diego/Imperial 6.6
Sacramento Region 6.8
Central Coast 6.8
Central Sierra 7.5
Los Angeles 7.9
Inland Empire 8.4
Upstate California 9.0
Central Valley 10.7
Ratio of Highest to Lowest Rate 2.06

By County:

Lowest 3 Unemployment Rates Highest 3 Unemployment Rates

Marin County 4.0 Sutter County 13.3
San Mateo County 4.2 Colusa County 14.9
San Francisco 4.5 Imperial County 22.0
Ratio of Highest to Lowest 5.50

By Legislative District:

Lowest 10 Unemployment Rates Highest 10 Unemployment Rates

Senate Assembly Senate Assembly

SD 13 (Hill – D) 4.2 AD 22 (Mullin – D) 4.0 SD 30 (Mitchell – D) 9.1 AD 33 (Donnelly – R) 9.9
SD 37 (Walters – R) 4.4 AD 74 (Mansoor – R) 4.2 SD 33 (Lara – D) 9.3 AD 03 (Logue – R) 10.2
SD 11 (Leno – D) 4.6 AD 16 (Buchanan – D) 4.2 SD 35 (Wright – D) 9.3 AD 36 (Fox – D) 10.3
SD 36 (new) 5.1 AD 73 (Harkey – R) 4.3 SD 24 (de Leon – D) 9.3 AD 64 (Hall – D) 11.1
SD 39 (Block – D) 5.3 AD 24 (Gordon – D) 4.4 SD 16 (Fuller – R) 9.4 AD 13 (Eggman – D) 11.4
SD 07 (DeSaulnier – D) 5.5 AD 68 (Wagner – R) 4.6 SD 21 (Knight – R) 9.4 AD 26 (Conway – R) 11.7
SD 02 (Evans – D) 5.6 AD 77 (Maienschein – R) 4.6 SD 40 (Hueso – D) 9.8 AD 31 (Perea – D) 12.1
SD 15 (Beall – D) 5.6 AD 19 (Ting – D) 4.6 SD 05 (Galgiani – D) 10.4 AD 32 (Salas – D) 12.2
SD 10 (Corbett – D) 5.6 AD 10 (Levine – D) 4.6 SD 12 (Cannella – R) 10.4 AD 21 (Gray – D) 12.8
SD 29 (Huff – R) 5.7 AD 17 (Ammiano – D) 4.7 SD 14 (Vidak – R) 12.9 AD 21 (Perez – D) 14.6

Ratio of Highest to Lowest: Senate Ratio of Highest to Lowest: Assembly
3.10 3.66

Six Californias

As another example of regional differences, the proposed “Six Californias” initiative recently submitted signatures for verification. The table below shows the June 2014 (not seasonally adjusted) unemployment rates for this proposed regional grouping. As indicated, there is still a spread in the unemployment rates, but a narrower spread (1.92) between the highest and lowest rates.

Region Unemployment Rate (%) Jun 2014
California 7.3
Silicon Valley 5.5
North California 6.5
South California 6.9
West California 7.8
Jefferson 8.4
Central California 10.6
Ratio of Highest to Lowest Rate 1.92