April State and Local Employment Report

The Employment Development Department (EDD) released the state and local employment reports for the month of April. Total California nonfarm employment increased by 29,500 jobs over the month in seasonally adjusted (SA) terms. Last month total nonfarm employment reached 16,012,200 jobs surpassing the 16 million mark for the first time ever.

The year-over-year change showed an increase of 457,300 jobs (SA). This equated to a growth rate of 2.9%, outpacing the April national increase of 2.2%. California’s private sector added 422,800 jobs (an increase of 3.2%) over the year, while employment in the public sector rose by 1.4% (34,500 jobs)

Ten of the 11 super-sectors added jobs over the year to April: construction; manufacturing; trade, transportation and utilities; information; financial activities; professional and business services; educational and health services; leisure and hospitality; other services; and government for a combined gain of 458,100 jobs. Professional and business services posted the largest gain on a numerical basis, adding 119,500 jobs (up 5.0%), while construction posted the largest gain in percentage terms, increasing by 6.4% or 42,600 jobs.

The only sector to record a decline over the year was mining and logging, down 800 jobs, or 2.6%.

California’s unemployment rate fell to 6.3% in April, down from 6.5% in March and down from the year ago rate of 7.8%. The April unemployment rate was the lowest in seven years. The state’s civilian labor force edged up by 0.1% over the month and by 1.1% over the year with the addition of 210,200 new entrants to the labor force. The labor force participation rate in California was 62.1% in April compared with the national rate of 62.8%.

County highlights:

(Note: With the exception of the Los Angeles unemployment rate, county level numbers are not seasonally adjusted, which means there can be large month-to-month fluctuations in jobs counts. A truer picture of how local labor markets are faring is revealed by focusing on the year-over-year numbers. Annual trends “correct” for the seasonal factors that influence certain industry sectors over the course of the year.)

§  In Los Angeles County, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 7.6%, unchanged from March but below the year ago rate of 8.4%. Total nonfarm employment rose by 9,600 jobs over the month and by 109,600 jobs over the year, an increase of 2.6%.

Educational and health services reported the largest year-over-year gain in employment in April with an increase of 24,300 jobs, over two-thirds of which were concentrated in health care (15,900) and within health care, about half of the newly created jobs were in individual and family services.

Also posting a significant employment upswing was the trade, transportation and utilities sector with a total of 24,200 jobs added over the year; wholesale trade employment was up by 9,800 jobs, retail by 8,800 jobs and transportation, warehousing, and utilities increased by 5,600 jobs.

The remaining industries that posted job gains over the year were leisure and hospitality (up 19,700), government (11,800), professional and business services (10,400), construction (7,800), information (7,000), other services (3,500), and financial activities (1,500).

Only two industries reported year-over-year declines in April: manufacturing (down by 400 jobs), and mining and logging (down by 200 jobs).

§  In April, the unemployment rate in Orange County was 4.1%, down from 4.4% in March and below the year-ago figure of 5.1%. Nonfarm payroll jobs increased by by 3,800 over the month and were up by 50,500 over the year (an increase of 3.4%).

§  In the Riverside-San Bernardino area, the unemployment rate in April was 6.2% compared with 6.5% in March and the year ago rate of 7.7%. The region gained 4,200 nonfarm payroll jobs over the month and 52,200 over the year. This represented an increase of 4.1%.

§  In Ventura County, the unemployment rate was 5.1%, down from the year ago estimate of 6.1%. Total nonfarm employment fell by 1,000 jobs compared to March but the number of nonfarm jobs rose by 3,600 (up 1.2%) over the year ending in April.

April was another good month for California’s labor markets. The state continues to outpace the nation in terms of job gains with employment growth occurring across a broad spectrum of industries. The local labor markets are also seeing ongoing improvement in terms of year-over-year jobs gains and declining unemployment rates. Throughout the Los Angeles five-county region unemployment rates are now well below the average rate going back to 2000. 

Sources:  http://www.labormarketinfo.edd.ca.gov/