Reports

Highlights for policy makers:

COVID-19 and the State Economy
Employment: 1.410 Million Below Recovery
Labor Force Participation Rate Drops to 60.4%
Employment Growth Ranking
Nonfarm Jobs: 1.411 Million Below Recovery
Jobs Change by Industry
Unemployment Rates by Region (not seasonally adjusted)
Unemployment Rates by Legislative District (not seasonally adjusted)
How Far Back Has the Economy in Each County Been Pushed?
Employment Share by Region
MSAs with the Worst Unemployment Rates: Los Angeles Remains 6th Worst in Nation

Initial claims for the week of December 19 declined from the prior week’s rise, but returned to the generally upward trend experienced since the first week of November.

In California, initial claims in the regular program were down 23.5% over the prior week, contributing heavily to the 7.7% drop for the US overall. PUA claims were largely unchanged with a dip of 2.4% in the state, but showed a stronger drop of 12.5% for the US. Combined, total claims were down 19.4% in California and 9.3% in the US.

Initial claims continued to climb but more sharply during the week of December 5, as all but 6 counties were placed by the state under the most restrictive Tier 1 status—now all but 4 smaller mountain counties in the most recent state orders for December 8. The recent wave of “stay at home” orders is now shutting many businesses especially small businesses who had been able to partially reopen during this most critical cash flow part of their revenue year. Given the timing on the surveys used to estimate the jobs and employment numbers, the effects of this current round will not likely become apparent until the release of the December numbers scheduled for later in January.

Below are the monthly updates from the most current November 2020 fuel price data (GasBuddy.com) and September 2020 electricity and natural gas price data (US Energy Information Agency). The September data incorporates the final electricity data published for 2019, which affects the previously reported monthly averages and rankings which are all calculated on a 12-month […]

Below are highlights from the recently released trade data from the US Census Bureau and US Bureau of Economic Analysis. To view additional data and analysis related to the California economy visit our website at www.centerforjobs.org/ca. California origin exports—including both products produced in the state and products aggregated by exporting firms—showed further recovery but remained […]

Reversing the upward trend of the prior two weeks, Initial claims for the week of November 28 produced a significant drop both in California and the nation as a whole. In California, initial claims in the regular program were down 22.8% and PUA claims down by 6.1%. Nationally, regular program claims (not seasonally adjusted) dropped 14.6%, and PUA claims were down 9.5%. Combined, total initial claims dropped 19.9% in the state and 13.2% in the US.

Initial claims for the week of November 21 saw a continued rise, with total claims increasing about the same in California and in the national numbers. In California, initial claims in the regular program were up 5.8% and PUA claims up 9.5%. Nationally, regular program claims were up more strongly at 10.5% but were offset somewhat by a 2.5% decline in PUA claims. Combined, total initial claims rose 6.4% in the state and 6.6% in the US.

Highlights for policy makers:

COVID-19 and the State Economy
Employment: 1.265 Million Below Recovery
Labor Force Participation Rate Up at 61.6%
Employment Growth Ranking
Nonfarm Jobs: 1.470 Million Below Recovery
Jobs Change by Industry
Unemployment Rates by Region (not seasonally adjusted)
Unemployment Rates by Legislative District (not seasonally adjusted)
How Far Back Has the Economy in Each County Been Pushed?
Employment Share by Region
MSAs with the Worst Unemployment Rates: Los Angeles Sinks to 6th Worst in Nation

Initial claims for the week of November 14 were up, with total claims rising about the same in California and the US as a whole. Total initial claims in California rose 4.4% with initial claims in the regular program largely unchanged at a rise of only 0.4% but PUA claims up 26.3%. Nationally, regular program claims were up 2.5% and PUA claims up 8.1%. Combined, total initial claims rose 4.4% in the state and 4.1% in the US.

The latest new vehicle data from California New Car Dealers Association shows total new light vehicle registrations in the third quarter were down 19.6% from the same period in the prior year, an improvement over the 48.9% drop in the second quarter but still lagging well behind the overall national decline of 8.4%. In addition to the associated jobs impacts, new vehicle sales are also a critical component of state and local revenues, with Motor Vehicle and Parts Dealers (NAICS 441) producing 12% of total taxable sales in 2019.

Initial claims for the week of November 7 remained largely steady in California but showed a slight easing on the national level. Total initial claims in California were essentially unchanged, with a slight drop in initial PUA claims offset by an uptick in the claims under the regular program. Nationally, both regular program and PUA claims eased to their lowest levels since the crisis began in March. Combined, total initial claims eased 7.7% on the national level, while notching up 0.3% in the state.

Below are the monthly updates from the most current October 2020 fuel price data (GasBuddy.com) and August 2020 electricity and natural gas price data (US Energy Information Agency). To view additional data and analysis related to the California economy visit our website at www.centerforjobs.org/ca. Energy use provides another indicator of the effects coming from the […]

Initial claims were largely stable both in California and the rest of the country in the week of October 31. Initial claims (not seasonally adjusted) in the regular program were up only 0.2% in the state, while down 0.9% for the country as a whole. Initial claims under PUA were up 19.7% for California, but this bump contributed to a rise of only 1.1% for the nation.

Below are highlights from the recently released trade data from the US Census Bureau and US Bureau of Economic Analysis. To view additional data and analysis related to the California economy visit our website at www.centerforjobs.org/ca.

Initial claims showed only minor easing for the week of October 24, with unemployment still well above prior levels as pandemic-related closures remain throughout most of the state. Initial claims in the regular program for California eased 4.9% from the prior week, while dipping 3.7% for the US (not seasonally adjusted) as a whole. Combined with the initial PUA claims covering the self-employed and other categories of workers, total claims eased 3.8% in California and 1.2% in the US.