(The Center Square) – According to new federal data, California job openings are down approximately 30% year-over-year, while the unemployment rate is stable at 5.3% — the nation’s second worst state unemployment rate.
California job openings declined from 920,000 in August 2023 to 641,000 this August. The unemployment rate is up slightly year-over-year, at a preliminary 5.3% for September 2024, compared to 5.0% in September 2023. California unemployment is only eclipsed at the state level by that of Nevada, where the unemployment rate is 5.6%.
“Our small-business-owning members have been telling us for many months that finding qualified employees has been a top problem for them, muscled out lately only by inflation,” said National Federation of Independent Business California Director John Kabateck to The Center Square. “Some of the decline in job openings can be attributed to them just giving up.”
Earlier this year, the state government announced California private sector employment has been declining since 2022, with public sector hiring accounting for the entire state net increase in jobs.
Nonetheless, federal jobs data does suggest that California is continuing to create new jobs in aggregate, even though the unemployment rate remains stuck at 5.3%.
“As the state continues to add thousands of jobs for the 53rd month straight, new economic data has highlighted California’s continued economic dominance,” said Newsom’s office in a release on September employment data.
California added a seasonally adjusted 14,700 payroll jobs in September after losing 1,200 in August, and 6,600 in February. The same data set also says the state lost 2,400 jobs in the state’s information sector, and another 4,400 jobs in the leisure and hospitality sector.
Phillips 66’s announced closure of its Los Angeles mega refinery will be a drag on the state due to 600 direct jobs losses from the closure along with 300 contractors as well as associated cuts in supporting industries, and from the higher cost of energy and petroleum products.
