Important Note: The employment data for the month of September 2024 is taken from the survey week including September 12. Data for October is scheduled for release on November 15, 2024.
Unemployment Rate Remains at 5.3 Percent
October 19, 2024 - SACRAMENTO – California’s employers added 14,700 nonfarm payroll jobs1 in September 2024 - with gains in seven economic sectors - as the unemployment rate remained 5.3 percent,2 according to data released by the Employment Development Department (EDD). September’s job gain follows a revised job loss of 1,200 for the previous month.
California's Labor Market, by the Numbers...
- Since May 2020, California gained 3,164,200 jobs, which averages 59,702 jobs per month. The State’s job market expansion entered 53 months in September 2024.
- Over the past year, California employers have added 265,300 nonfarm jobs, or 22,108 jobs a month on average since September 2023.
- In September, 7 of California's 11 industry sectors gained jobs, with the largest increase in Private Education & Health Services (+9,600) led by gains in Health Care and Social Assistance.
- Government (+3,800) showed above average strength in State Governmental Educational Services as the 2024-25 school year kicked off.
- While Leisure & Hospitality (-4,400) posted the largest month-over reduction with the most losses (-3,700) in Arts, Entertainment, & Recreation; it retained a strong year-over gain of 22,700 jobs.
1. The unemployment rate comes from a separate federal survey of 5,100 California households.
2. The nonfarm payroll job numbers come from a federal survey of 80,000 California businesses.
Data Trends about Jobs in the Economy
Total Nonfarm Payroll Jobs (Comes from a monthly survey of approximately 80,000 California businesses that estimates jobs in the economy – seasonally adjusted)
- Month-over – Total nonfarm jobs in California’s 11 major industries amounted to 18,097,700 in September – a net gain of 14,700 from August. This followed a downward-revised (-8,000) month-over loss of 1,200 jobs in August.
- Year-over – Total nonfarm jobs increased by 265,300 (a 1.5 percent increase) from September 2023 to September 2024 compared to the U.S. annual gain of 2,438,000 jobs (a 1.6 percent increase).
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Total Farm Jobs – The number of jobs in the agriculture industry decreased from August by 1,400 to a total of 415,100 jobs in September. The agriculture industry had 4,800 more farm jobs in September 2024 than it did in September of last year.
Data Trends about Workers in the Economy
Employment and Unemployment in California (Based on a monthly federal survey of 5,100 California households which focuses on workers in the economy)
- Employed – The number of Californians employed in September was 18,364,700, an increase of 2,100 persons from August’s total of 18,362,600 and up 6,300 from the employment total in September 2023.
- Unemployed – The number of unemployed Californians was 1,031,800 in September, an increase of 11,400 over the month and up 64,100 in comparison to September 2023.
Unemployment Insurance Claims (Not Seasonally Adjusted)
The following data is from a sample week that includes the 19th of each month:
In related data that figures into the state’s unemployment rate, there were 359,420 people certifying for Unemployment Insurance (UI) benefits during the September 2024 sample week. That compares to 382,640 people in August and 368,452 people in September 2023. Concurrently, 38,084 initial claims were processed in the September 2024 sample week, which was a month-over decrease of 939 claims from August as well as a year-over increase of 221 claims from September 2023.
| COUNTY | LABOR FORCE | EMPLOYMENT | UNEMPLOYMENT | RATE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| STATE TOTAL |
19,501,400 |
18,471,400 |
1,030,000 |
5.3% |
| ALAMEDA |
826,600 |
787,300 |
39,200 |
4.7% |
| ALPINE |
500 |
470 |
30 |
6.6% |
| AMADOR |
14,740 |
13,980 |
760 |
5.1% |
| BUTTE |
93,100 |
87,900 |
5,200 |
5.6% |
| CALAVERAS |
22,690 |
21,680 |
1,020 |
4.5% |
| COLUSA |
10,870 |
9,980 |
900 |
8.2% |
| CONTRA COSTA |
551,100 |
524,500 |
26,600 |
4.8% |
| DEL NORTE |
9,520 |
9,000 |
530 |
5.5% |
| EL DORADO |
94,600 |
90,500 |
4,100 |
4.3% |
| FRESNO |
461,400 |
429,600 |
31,800 |
6.9% |
| GLENN |
12,930 |
12,180 |
750 |
5.8% |
| HUMBOLDT |
61,200 |
58,200 |
3,000 |
4.8% |
| IMPERIAL |
75,700 |
61,100 |
14,600 |
19.2% |
| INYO |
8,680 |
8,360 |
320 |
3.7% |
| KERN |
399,600 |
368,800 |
30,800 |
7.7% |
| KINGS |
59,100 |
54,800 |
4,300 |
7.3% |
| LAKE |
28,870 |
27,280 |
1,600 |
5.5% |
| LASSEN |
8,910 |
8,460 |
450 |
5.0% |
| LOS ANGELES |
5,123,800 |
4,815,500 |
308,300 |
6.0% |
| MADERA |
66,800 |
62,400 |
4,400 |
6.7% |
| MARIN |
131,800 |
126,800 |
5,000 |
3.8% |
| MARIPOSA |
8,100 |
7,740 |
360 |
4.5% |
| MENDOCINO |
38,250 |
36,430 |
1,810 |
4.7% |
| MERCED |
122,300 |
112,800 |
9,500 |
7.8% |
| MODOC |
3,250 |
3,080 |
170 |
5.3% |
| MONO |
9,460 |
9,110 |
360 |
3.8% |
| MONTEREY |
227,500 |
216,300 |
11,200 |
4.9% |
| NAPA |
73,000 |
70,200 |
2,800 |
3.9% |
| NEVADA |
49,410 |
47,340 |
2,070 |
4.2% |
| ORANGE |
1,595,900 |
1,531,000 |
64,900 |
4.1% |
| PLACER |
197,100 |
188,800 |
8,300 |
4.2% |
| PLUMAS |
7,720 |
7,310 |
400 |
5.2% |
| RIVERSIDE |
1,169,600 |
1,104,300 |
65,300 |
5.6% |
| SACRAMENTO |
740,100 |
704,100 |
36,000 |
4.9% |
| SAN BENITO |
31,900 |
30,100 |
1,900 |
5.8% |
| SAN BERNARDINO |
1,022,600 |
969,600 |
52,900 |
5.2% |
| SAN DIEGO |
1,598,300 |
1,525,500 |
72,800 |
4.6% |
| SAN FRANCISCO |
553,700 |
533,500 |
20,200 |
3.6% |
| SAN JOAQUIN |
356,900 |
335,000 |
21,900 |
6.1% |
| SAN LUIS OBISPO |
135,900 |
130,500 |
5,400 |
4.0% |
| SAN MATEO |
438,300 |
422,800 |
15,500 |
3.5% |
| SANTA BARBARA |
221,700 |
212,500 |
9,100 |
4.1% |
| SANTA CLARA |
1,032,300 |
990,200 |
42,100 |
4.1% |
| SANTA CRUZ |
134,000 |
127,100 |
6,900 |
5.2% |
| SHASTA |
74,600 |
70,700 |
3,900 |
5.2% |
| SIERRA |
1,420 |
1,360 |
60 |
4.1% |
| SISKIYOU |
16,100 |
15,140 |
960 |
5.9% |
| SOLANO |
205,600 |
195,100 |
10,600 |
5.1% |
| SONOMA |
250,900 |
240,900 |
10,000 |
4.0% |
| STANISLAUS |
250,700 |
234,900 |
15,700 |
6.3% |
| SUTTER |
47,900 |
44,800 |
3,100 |
6.5% |
| TEHAMA |
26,840 |
25,240 |
1,600 |
6.0% |
| TRINITY |
4,760 |
4,530 |
230 |
4.9% |
| TULARE |
214,800 |
194,800 |
20,000 |
9.3% |
| TUOLUMNE |
20,630 |
19,570 |
1,060 |
5.1% |
| VENTURA |
413,600 |
393,900 |
19,700 |
4.8% |
| YOLO |
110,900 |
105,500 |
5,400 |
4.9% |
| YUBA |
32,900 |
30,700 |
2,200 |
6.6% |
Source: CA. EDD
