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California’s unemployment falls to 4.9 percent for March 2022

Published:

NR No. 22-17
Contact: Loree Levy/Aubrey Henry
916-654-9029
mediainquiries@edd.ca.gov

IMPORTANT NOTE: The employment data for the month of March 2022 is taken from the survey week including Mar. 12. Data for the month of April is scheduled for release on May 20, 2022.

Employers added 60,200 nonfarm payroll jobs

SACRAMENTO – California’s unemployment rate went down for the month of March 2022 to 4.9 percent1 as the state’s employers added 60,200 nonfarm payroll jobs2 to the economy, according to data released today by the California Employment Development Department (EDD) from two surveys. February’s unemployment rate was revised down 0.1 percentage points to 5.3 percent due to a drop in unemployment by 12,000 persons.

The California unemployment rate is 4.9 percent as of March, 2022.
California payroll jobs totaled 17,338,900 as of February 2022.

California’s Labor Market, by the Numbers...

  • California has now regained nearly 90 percent (2,463,400) of the 2,758,900 nonfarm jobs lost during March and April of 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • Of the 431,000 nonfarm jobs the nation gained in March, California accounted for 14 percent of those gains, surpassing the state's 11.5 percent share of employment in the U.S.
  • California has enjoyed month-over gains in nonfarm jobs in 13 of the past 14 months totaling a 1,380,100 job gain over that time period.
  • Fewer than one million Californians are unemployed for the first time since Feb. 2020.
  • For the second month in a row, none of California’s 11 industry sectors lost jobs and Leisure & Hospitality (+14,800) once again posted the largest job increase with Limited-Service Eating Places being its main driver.
  • Professional & Business Services also posted a good-sized gain (+10,400) thanks to strength in Employment Services, as well as Accounting, Tax Preparation, and Bookkeeping Services.

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 5,100 California households.

Data Trends about Jobs in the Economy

Total Nonfarm Payroll Jobs

This 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 totaled 17,396,400 in March – a net gain of 60,200 jobs from February. This followed a downward revised (-2,700) month-over gain of 135,400 jobs in February.
  • Year-over – Total nonfarm jobs increased by 1,041,900 (a 6.4 percent increase) from March 2021 to March 2022 compared to the U.S. annual gain of 6,494,000 jobs (a 4.5 percent increase).
Major Industries Month-over Change (Feb. 2022–Mar. 2022) Year-over Change (Mar. 2021–Mar. 2022) Total Payroll Jobs as of Mar. 2022
Leisure and Hospitality +14,800 +410,300 1,857,500
Professional and Business Services +10,400 +136,500 2,806,400
Education and Health Services +9,000 +114,900 2,891,000
Construction +8,900 +30,600 915,900
Trade, Transportation, Utilities +5,300 +112,300 3,134,500
Other Services +4,900 +69,100 546,500
Financial Activities +3,600 +12,100 833,700
Manufacturing +2,900 +28,800 1,297,300
Information +200 +45,500 588,600
Government +200 +81,800 2,505,600
Mining and Logging No Change No Change 19,400

Total Farm jobs – The number of jobs in the agriculture industry decreased by 600 from February to 413,900 jobs in March. The agricultural industry has 3,600 more farm jobs in March 2022 than it did in March a year ago.

Data Trends about Workers in the Economy

Employment and Unemployment in California

This information is 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 March was 18,197,600, an increase of 141,400 persons from February’s total of 18,056,200, and up 997,700 from the employment total in March 2021.
  • Unemployed – The number of unemployed Californians was 933,700 in March, a decrease of 78,300 over the month and down 648,000 in comparison to March 2021.
California Labor Force Month-over Change (February 2022–March 2022) Year-over Change (March 2021–March 2022)
* Civilian Labor Force (19,131,300) +63,100 +349,600
Total Civilian Employment (18,197,600) +141,400 +997,700
Unemployment (933,700) -78,300 -648,000

* Labor force by place of residence, including workers involved in trade disputes.

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 398,638 people certifying for Unemployment Insurance benefits during the March 2022 sample week. That compares to 425,221 people in February and 680,279 people in March 2021. Concurrently, 39,185 initial claims were processed in the March 2022 sample week, which was a month-over decrease of 4,517 claims from February and a year-over decrease of 57,027 claims from March 2021.

California Unemployment Insurance Claims Month-over Change (February 2022–March 2022) Year-over Change (March 2021–March 2022)
UI Recipients (398,638) -26,583 -281,641
New UI Claims (39,185) -4,517 -57,027
MONTHLY LABOR FORCE DATA FOR COUNTIES
March 2022 (Preliminary); 2021 Benchmark
NOT SEASONALLY ADJUSTED
COUNTY LABOR FORCE EMPLOYMENT UNEMPLOYMENT RATE
STATE TOTAL 19,374,100 18,551,100 823,000 4.2%
ALAMEDA 832,800 805,900 26,800 3.2%
ALPINE 560 530 30 5.3%
AMADOR 14,520 13,860 660 4.5%
BUTTE 93,000 88,900 4,100 4.4%
CALAVERAS 21,700 20,940 770 3.5%
COLUSA 10,850 9,490 1,350 12.5%
CONTRA COSTA 556,700 537,400 19,300 3.5%
DEL NORTE 9,390 8,920 480 5.1%
EL DORADO 93,900 90,800 3,100 3.3%
FRESNO 453,900 422,800 31,100 6.9%
GLENN 12,690 12,050 640 5.0%
HUMBOLDT 59,900 57,800 2,200 3.7%
IMPERIAL 70,300 61,600 8,700 12.3%
INYO 8,310 8,010 300 3.6%
KERN 380,100 351,000 29,200 7.7%
KINGS 56,600 52,400 4,300 7.5%
LAKE 28,790 27,340 1,450 5.0%
LASSEN 8,840 8,440 400 4.5%
LOS ANGELES 5,072,300 4,824,600 247,700 4.9%
MADERA 63,600 59,500 4,100 6.4%
MARIN 132,000 128,800 3,100 2.4%
MARIPOSA 6,360 6,000 360 5.7%
MENDOCINO 37,600 36,150 1,460 3.9%
MERCED 116,800 107,100 9,700 8.3%
MODOC 3,170 2,980 190 5.9%
MONO 9,550 9,200 350 3.6%
MONTEREY 207,700 191,900 15,800 7.6%
NAPA 70,100 67,900 2,300 3.2%
NEVADA 48,120 46,510 1,600 3.3%
ORANGE 1,597,500 1,547,700 49,800 3.1%
PLACER 194,400 189,000 5,400 2.8%
PLUMAS 6,980 6,380 600 8.6%
RIVERSIDE 1,165,800 1,116,200 49,600 4.3%
SACRAMENTO 732,300 702,900 29,400 4.0%
SAN BENITO 32,700 31,000 1,700 5.3%
SAN BERNARDINO 1,020,200 976,200 44,100 4.3%
SAN DIEGO 1,596,800 1,542,100 54,700 3.4%
SAN FRANCISCO 572,100 557,600 14,500 2.5%
SAN JOAQUIN 339,200 319,900 19,200 5.7%
SAN LUIS OBISPO 139,000 135,100 3,900 2.8%
SAN MATEO 452,600 442,200 10,400 2.3%
SANTA BARBARA 221,700 213,900 7,800 3.5%
SANTA CLARA 1,047,800 1,022,100 25,700 2.5%
SANTA CRUZ 134,700 127,600 7,100 5.2%
SHASTA 74,100 70,700 3,400 4.6%
SIERRA 1,320 1,260 60 4.8%
SISKIYOU 16,070 15,030 1,040 6.5%
SOLANO 202,600 193,300 9,200 4.6%
SONOMA 249,100 241,700 7,400 3.0%
STANISLAUS 241,900 228,200 13,700 5.7%
SUTTER 45,900 42,700 3,200 7.0%
TEHAMA 25,340 24,130 1,210 4.8%
TRINITY 4,320 4,120 200 4.7%
TULARE 203,600 186,500 17,100 8.4%
TUOLUMNE 20,010 19,080 930 4.7%
VENTURA 414,700 400,300 14,400 3.5%
YOLO 109,500 105,500 4,100 3.7%
YUBA 31,500 29,700 1,800 5.7%