Important Note: The employment data for the month of July 2025 comes from the survey week that included July 12. Data for August is scheduled for release on September 19, 2025.
August 16, 2025 - SACRAMENTO — California gained 15,000 nonfarm payroll jobs1 in July 2025 and the unemployment rate rose slightly to 5.5 percent2, according to the latest Employment Development Department (EDD) data that comes from two separate surveys. July’s job gain follows a downward-revised job loss of 9,500 for June 2025.
California's Labor Market, by the Numbers...
- California’s gain of 15,000 jobs accounted for 20.5 percent of the nation’s overall July gain of 73,000 jobs, which is notably stronger than California’s 11.3 percent share of jobs nationally.
- California’s unemployment rate had a month-over increase of 0.1 percent, which mirrors the 0.1 percent increase nationally.
- California has gained 3,102,900 jobs since April 2020, an average of 49,252 per month. The State has gained 83,800 jobs year-over — primarily driven by two industries, Private Education and Health Services (+168,700) and Government (+59,400).
- Six of California's 11 industry sectors gained jobs in July, with Private Education and Health Services (+23,100) having the largest gains in Health Care and Social Assistance (+23,400) and Ambulatory Health Care services (+12,600). These gains are partly due to California’s aging population.
- Government (+7,200) also posted a month-over job gain with the largest increase coming from Local Government (+7,200). State Government (+400) also increased, while Federal Government (-400) lost jobs in July.
- Professional and Business Services (-7,100) posted the State’s largest month-over loss as specialized design, computer design, and scientific research and development have experienced consistent year-over losses each month this calendar year.
1. The nonfarm payroll job numbers come from a federal survey of 80,000 California businesses.
2. The unemployment rate comes from a separate federal survey of 4,400 California households.
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 18,022,700 in July – a gain of 15,000 from June. This followed June’s downward revision of 3,400 jobs, resulting in a month-over June loss of 9,500 jobs.
- Year-over — Total nonfarm jobs increased by 83,800 (0.5 percent increase) from July 2024 to July 2025 compared to the U.S. annual gains of 1,536,000 jobs (a 1.0 percent increase).
Total Farm Jobs — The number of jobs in the agriculture industry increased from June by 500 to a total of 417,200 jobs in July. The agriculture industry had 6,400 more farm jobs in July 2025 than it did in July of last year.
Data Trends about Workers in the Economy
Employment and Unemployment in California (Based on a monthly federal survey of 4,400 California households which focuses on workers in the economy)
- Employed — The number of Californians employed in June was 18,763,000, a loss of 7,600 persons from June’s total of 18,770,600 and up 138,800 from the employment total in July 2024.
- Unemployed — The number of unemployed Californians was 1,088,600 in July, an increase of 18,200 over the month and up 31,800 in comparison to July 2024.
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 386,665 people certifying for Unemployment Insurance (UI) benefits during the July 2025 sample week. That compares to 387,555 people in June and 400,294 people in July 2024. Concurrently, 41,860 initial claims were processed in the July 2025 sample week, which was a month-over decrease of 4,769 claims from June and a year-over decrease of 66 claims from July 2024
| COUNTY | LABOR FORCE | EMPLOYMENT | UNEMPLOYMENT | RATE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| STATE TOTAL |
19,824,400 |
18,621,700 |
1,202,800 |
6.1% |
| ALAMEDA |
871,500 |
825,600 |
45,900 |
5.3% |
| ALPINE |
400 |
360 |
40 |
10.1% |
| AMADOR |
15,260 |
14,290 |
980 |
6.4% |
| BUTTE |
92,500 |
86,200 |
6,200 |
6.8% |
| CALAVERAS |
17,940 |
16,710 |
1,230 |
6.9% |
| COLUSA |
11,620 |
10,320 |
1,300 |
11.2% |
| CONTRA COSTA |
585,900 |
554,400 |
31,500 |
5.4% |
| DEL NORTE |
8,900 |
8,280 |
620 |
6.9% |
| EL DORADO |
91,500 |
86,600 |
4,900 |
5.4% |
| FRESNO |
480,200 |
438,500 |
41,700 |
8.7% |
| GLENN |
11,990 |
11,000 |
990 |
8.2% |
| HUMBOLDT |
59,600 |
55,900 |
3,600 |
6.1% |
| IMPERIAL |
73,200 |
58,400 |
14,800 |
20.2% |
| INYO |
8,690 |
8,270 |
420 |
4.9% |
| KERN |
413,300 |
373,800 |
39,500 |
9.6% |
| KINGS |
59,100 |
53,300 |
5,800 |
9.8% |
| LAKE |
26,290 |
24,290 |
2,000 |
7.6% |
| LASSEN |
8,060 |
7,530 |
530 |
6.6% |
| LOS ANGELES |
5,067,900 |
4,743,200 |
324,700 |
6.4% |
| MADERA |
71,700 |
65,700 |
5,900 |
8.3% |
| MARIN |
127,100 |
121,000 |
6,000 |
4.8% |
| MARIPOSA |
7,730 |
7,300 |
430 |
5.5% |
| MENDOCINO |
37,560 |
35,280 |
2,280 |
6.1% |
| MERCED |
126,700 |
113,700 |
13,000 |
10.3% |
| MODOC |
3,250 |
3,040 |
210 |
6.4% |
| MONO |
8,830 |
8,460 |
370 |
4.1% |
| MONTEREY |
237,600 |
222,700 |
14,900 |
6.3% |
| NAPA |
78,900 |
75,400 |
3,400 |
4.4% |
| NEVADA |
48,380 |
45,880 |
2,510 |
5.2% |
| ORANGE |
1,644,500 |
1,566,300 |
78,200 |
4.8% |
| PLACER |
207,800 |
197,700 |
10,100 |
4.9% |
| PLUMAS |
8,160 |
7,650 |
510 |
6.2% |
| RIVERSIDE |
1,198,100 |
1,120,800 |
77,300 |
6.5% |
| SACRAMENTO |
788,200 |
743,700 |
44,500 |
5.6% |
| SAN BENITO |
34,800 |
32,300 |
2,400 |
6.9% |
| SAN BERNARDINO |
1,042,700 |
977,700 |
65,100 |
6.2% |
| SAN DIEGO |
1,672,800 |
1,585,400 |
87,300 |
5.2% |
| SAN FRANCISCO |
514,200 |
491,700 |
22,500 |
4.4% |
| SAN JOAQUIN |
376,400 |
349,200 |
27,200 |
7.2% |
| SAN LUIS OBISPO |
134,400 |
127,400 |
7,000 |
5.2% |
| SAN MATEO |
421,200 |
403,100 |
18,100 |
4.3% |
| SANTA BARBARA |
228,800 |
217,400 |
11,500 |
5.0% |
| SANTA CLARA |
1,035,300 |
985,500 |
49,700 |
4.8% |
| SANTA CRUZ |
140,400 |
131,900 |
8,600 |
6.1% |
| SHASTA |
80,700 |
76,000 |
4,800 |
5.9% |
| SIERRA |
1,490 |
1,420 |
70 |
4.9% |
| SISKIYOU |
16,940 |
15,710 |
1,230 |
7.2% |
| SOLANO |
217,100 |
204,200 |
12,900 |
5.9% |
| SONOMA |
249,900 |
237,600 |
12,300 |
4.9% |
| STANISLAUS |
262,400 |
242,200 |
20,200 |
7.7% |
| SUTTER |
47,400 |
43,300 |
4,100 |
8.6% |
| TEHAMA |
27,170 |
25,190 |
1,970 |
7.3% |
| TRINITY |
5,700 |
5,360 |
350 |
6.1% |
| TULARE |
220,500 |
195,800 |
24,800 |
11.2% |
| TUOLUMNE |
22,660 |
21,350 |
1,320 |
5.8% |
| VENTURA |
423,500 |
400,700 |
22,800 |
5.4% |
| YOLO |
113,400 |
106,200 |
7,200 |
6.3% |
| YUBA |
36,200 |
33,500 |
2,700 |
7.5% |
Source: CA EDD
