What You Need to Know: The release schedule for state January and February 2026 data has not yet been finalized as the Department awaits access to survey data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Due to this delay, California will release its post-benchmark labor statistics estimates in April of this year instead of the usual (March) release timeframe.
SACRAMENTO — The Employment Development Department (EDD) is updating its release dates for available state unemployment and employment data.
As in previous years, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics issues a benchmarked employment data series with its release of January data. This is an annual revision process in which monthly labor force and payroll employment by industry estimates are updated. As a result, EDD does not issue a labor data news release in February.
Typically, states will issue January labor data in March followed a few weeks later by the release of February data. However, due to the impacts of recent federal government shutdowns, the U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics release of the data has been delayed.
The EDD plans to release the January 2026 data, along with the benchmarked data on April 3, 2026.
EDD will announce future California labor market data release dates once the updated federal schedule is available and the State has access to the necessary data to complete state-level and localized reports.
More information on the annual benchmarking process is available online.