California approached midyear 2013 with moderating employment gains and a steadily falling unemployment rate. Real estate markets were also improving and home building improved fitfully. Preliminary estimates show that personal income dropped 1.8 percent in the first quarter of 2013 from the fourth quarter of 2012, reflecting in part the expiration of the payroll tax holiday and the acceleration of income from 2013 into 2012.
Labor Market Conditions
California’s unemployment rate fell to 8.6 percent in May, the second straight record-setting drop after April’s decrease of 0.4 percentage point to 9.0 percent. The year-over-year drop of 2.1 percentage points was the second largest since the series began in 1976. The gap with the U.S. unemployment rate–7.6 percent in May–has narrowed.
View Article