Job growth was solid in August, in California and greater Sacramento, as the state’s economy continued to perform well.
Employers statewide added a robust 63,100 jobs during the month, the Employment Development Department reported Friday, although the unemployment rate was unchanged at 5.5 percent. The job gains for August were a sharp contrast with a fairly weak showing of 18,600 the month before.
In greater Sacramento, the unemployment rate fell three-tenths of a point, to 5.5 percent. Employers added 5,200 payroll jobs during the month, and the construction industry led the way with 3,300 jobs. Retailers added 1,600 jobs.
Economist Jeff Michael of the University of the Pacific called it a “solid jobs report for Sacramento” and noted that construction employment in the region, which has been slow to recover from the housing market crash, has grown by 14 percent in the past year. Public sector jobs have increased by nearly 2 percent since last August, “which is significant given the size of the sector,” he said in an email.
The numbers suggest California’s economy is still healthy even as the national economy has shown signs of slowing down. California accounted for 42 percent of all reported job gains in the United States in August, according to economist Sung Won Sohn of California State University, Channel Islands.
“California’s economy is surging ahead while the rest of the country is not so hot,” he said in a note to reporters.
Over the past year total jobs in the Sacramento region have increased by 24,000, a rate of 2.6 percent. Statewide job growth has totaled 378,000 in the past year, a gain of 2.3 percent.
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