The state-funded Legislative Analyst’s Office found California had “no job creation” in the fourth quarter of 2024, citing federal data that shows the state lost approximately 80,300 jobs between January and December of 2024.
The LAO’s report also noted that jobs estimates have overestimated job growth by 25,000 jobs per month.
“Since mid-2022 … five out of six quarterly early benchmark revisions have shown weaker employment trends than first reported by the monthly survey,” wrote the LAO. “For context, the monthly survey has overestimated net job growth by 25,000 jobs per month on average over this period.”
The quarterly seasonally-adjusted benchmark revisions by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia cited by the LAO incorporate the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, which includes 95% of U.S. jobs, to “augment” the monthly Current Employment Statistics.
The latest dataset found that California jobs declined from 18,010,000 in January 2024 to 17,929,700 in December 2024 resulting in a net loss of 80,300 jobs over the course of the year.
The early benchmark for the first quarter of 2025 suggests California has continued to lose more jobs than expected, though by April, jobs had nearly recovered to January levels. California had 17,909,000 jobs in January 2025, declining to 17,881,000 in March 2025.
Jobs sharply rebounded in April, rising to 17,898,600. It’s likely ongoing jobs cuts at California’s state and local governments, exacerbated by risks to federal funding, could result in losses in taxpayer-funded jobs. Because California has lost nearly 200,000 private sector jobs since 2023 — losses that were only offset by growth in taxpayer-funded jobs — layoffs or even reduced hiring in the taxpayer-funded sector, could have a significant impact on California employment.
