NR No. 23-01
Contact: Loree Levy/Aubrey Henry
916-654-9029
mediainquiries@edd.ca.gov
IMPORTANT NOTE: The employment data for the month of December 2022 is taken from the survey week including Dec. 12th. Data for the month of January is scheduled for release on March 10, 2023.
Employers added 16,200 nonfarm payroll jobs
California’s unemployment rate held flat in the month of December 2022 at 4.1 percent1 as the state’s employers added 16,200 nonfarm payroll jobs2 to the economy, according to data released today by the California Employment Development Department (EDD) from two surveys.
California’s Labor Market, by the Numbers...
- December 2022 marked the 15th consecutive month of nonfarm job gains, which now totals 807,300 jobs over that time period for a monthly average gain of 53,820 jobs.
- Year over, California job growth (3.6 percent) has outpaced the U.S. as a whole (3.0 percent) by 0.6 percentage points and the state has 70,000 more jobs than pre-pandemic levels in February 2020.
- Nine of California’s 11 industry sectors gained jobs in December with Education & Health Services (+8,200) showing the largest month-over gains thanks to strength in Home Healthcare Services, Residential Care Facilities, and Individual and Family Services.
- Construction (+7,500) also enjoyed a strong month-over gain thanks, in part, to good gains in Specialty Trade Contractors
- Trade, Transportation, and Utilities (-11,100) suffered from losses in Merchant Wholesalers of both Durable and Nondurable Goods, as well as with reductions in Retail Trade, including Health and Personal Care Stores and Office Supplies, Stationary, and Gift Stores.
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
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 totaled 17,761,900 in December – a net gain of 16,200 from November. This followed a downward revised (-6,900) month-over gain of 19,900 jobs in November.
- Year-over – Total nonfarm jobs increased by 621,400 (a 3.6 percent increase) from December 2021 to December 2022 compared to the U.S. annual gain 4,503,000 jobs (a 3.0 percent increase).
| Major Industries | Month-over Change (November2022–December 2022) | Year-over Change (December 2021–December 2022) | Total Payroll Jobs as of December 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Education and Health Services |
+8,200 | +143,100 | 2,995,700 |
|
Construction |
+7,500 | +41,100 | 925,600 |
| Government | +6,000 | +44,000 | 2,546,900 |
|
Leisure and Hospitality |
+5,300 | +140,100 | 1,952,500 |
|
Professional and Business Services |
+3,500 | +100,900 | 2,874,600 |
|
Other Services |
+1,300 | +28,000 | 556,500 |
|
Financial Activities |
+900 | +13,800 | 840,300 |
|
Manufacturing |
+600 | +35,000 | 1,317,600 |
| Mining and Logging | +100 | No Change | 19,300 |
|
Information |
-6,100 | +17,500 | 604,500 |
|
Trade, Transp., Utilities |
-11,100 | 57,900 | 3,128400 |
Total Farm jobs – The number of jobs in the agriculture industry increased from November by 5,100 to a total of 416,200 jobs in December. The agricultural industry had 4,900 more farm jobs in December 2022 than it did in December a year ago.
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 December was 18,440,500, a decrease of 20,000 persons from November’s total of 18,460,500, but up 589,500 from the employment total in December
- Unemployed – The number of unemployed Californians was 782,300 in December, a decrease of 6,700 over the month and down 312,800 in comparison to December 2021.
| California Labor Force | Month-over Change (November2022–December 2022) | Year-over Change (December 2021–December 2022) |
|---|---|---|
| * Civilian Labor Force (19,222,800) | -26,800 | +276,800 |
| Total Civilian Employment (18,440,500) | -20,000 | +589,500 |
| Unemployment (782,300) | -6,700 | -312,800 |
* 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 326,252 people certifying for Unemployment Insurance benefits during the December 2022 sample week. That compares to 306,550 people in November and 355,749 people in December 2021. Concurrently, 41,550 initial claims were processed in the December 2022 sample week, which was a month-over decrease of 6,271 claims from November and a year-over decrease of 7,521 claims from December 2021.
| California Unemployment Insurance Claims | Month-over Change (November 2022–December 2022) | Year-over Change (December 2021–December 2022) |
|---|---|---|
| UI Recipients (326,252) | +19,702 | -29,497 |
| New UI Claims (47,821) | +6,271 | -7,521 |
| COUNTY | LABOR FORCE | EMPLOYMENT | UNEMPLOYMENT | RATE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| STATE TOTAL | 19,221,000 | 18,504,700 | 716,200 | 3.7% |
| ALAMEDA | 831,100 | 808,400 | 22,700 | 2.7% |
| ALPINE | 580 | 550 | 20 | 4.2% |
| AMADOR | 14,170 | 13,580 | 580 | 4.1% |
| BUTTE | 92,600 | 88,900 | 3,700 | 4.0% |
| CALAVERAS | 21,900 | 21,210 | 690 | 3.2% |
| COLUSA | 10,720 | 9,410 | 1,310 | 12.2% |
| CONTRA COSTA | 554,700 | 538,400 | 16,200 | 2.9% |
| DEL NORTE | 9,240 | 8,810 | 440 | 4.7% |
| EL DORADO | 92,500 | 89,900 | 2,600 | 2.8% |
| FRESNO | 450,400 | 422,300 | 28,100 | 6.2% |
| GLENN | 12,710 | 12,060 | 660 | 5.2% |
| HUMBOLDT | 60,500 | 58,500 | 2,000 | 3.4% |
| IMPERIAL | 70,900 | 60,400 | 10,500 | 14.8% |
| INYO | 8,240 | 7,980 | 260 | 3.1% |
| KERN | 388,900 | 363,000 | 25,900 | 6.7% |
| KINGS | 56,500 | 52,700 | 3,800 | 6.8% |
| LAKE | 28,130 | 26,700 | 1,430 | 5.1% |
| LASSEN | 8,890 | 8,530 | 360 | 4.1% |
| LOS ANGELES | 4,927,700 | 4,712,200 | 215,500 | 4.4% |
| MADERA | 63,600 | 59,800 | 3,800 | 6.0% |
| MARIN | 128,800 | 126,000 | 2,800 | 2.2% |
| MARIPOSA | 6,660 | 6,360 | 300 | 4.5% |
| MENDOCINO | 37,510 | 36,090 | 1,420 | 3.8% |
| MERCED | 115,400 | 106,900 | 8,600 | 7.4% |
| MODOC | 3,120 | 2,950 | 170 | 5.4% |
| MONO | 8,880 | 8,590 | 290 | 3.2% |
| MONTEREY | 200,300 | 186,500 | 13,900 | 6.9% |
| NAPA | 67,400 | 65,400 | 2,000 | 3.0% |
| NEVADA | 48,640 | 47,270 | 1,370 | 2.8% |
| ORANGE | 1,604,900 | 1,564,200 | 40,700 | 2.5% |
| PLACER | 192,200 | 187,400 | 4,800 | 2.5% |
| PLUMAS | 7,090 | 6,600 | 490 | 6.9% |
| RIVERSIDE | 1,173,400 | 1,130,500 | 42,900 | 3.7% |
| SACRAMENTO | 722,400 | 697,100 | 25,300 | 3.5% |
| SAN BENITO | 33,000 | 31,400 | 1,500 | 4.6% |
| SAN BERNARDINO | 1,026,800 | 990,100 | 36,700 | 3.6% |
| SAN DIEGO | 1,589,000 | 1,543,400 | 45,600 | 2.9% |
| SAN FRANCISCO | 578,400 | 566,700 | 11,700 | 2.0% |
| SAN JOAQUIN | 337,700 | 320,200 | 17,500 | 5.2% |
| SAN LUIS OBISPO | 136,100 | 132,800 | 3,300 | 2.4% |
| SAN MATEO | 457,600 | 449,000 | 8,600 | 1.9% |
| SANTA BARBARA | 222,300 | 215,500 | 6,800 | 3.1% |
| SANTA CLARA | 1,060,500 | 1,038,800 | 21,700 | 2.0% |
| SANTA CRUZ | 133,500 | 127,400 | 6,000 | 4.5% |
| SHASTA | 73,400 | 70,400 | 3,000 | 4.1% |
| SIERRA | 1,330 | 1,290 | 50 | 3.6% |
| SISKIYOU | 15,690 | 14,800 | 900 | 5.7% |
| SOLANO | 200,700 | 193,100 | 7,700 | 3.8% |
| SONOMA | 248,400 | 242,100 | 6,300 | 2.5% |
| STANISLAUS | 236,200 | 223,700 | 12,500 | 5.3% |
| SUTTER | 44,700 | 41,700 | 3,000 | 6.8% |
| TEHAMA | 25,300 | 24,150 | 1,160 | 4.6% |
| TRINITY | 4,310 | 4,110 | 200 | 4.7% |
| TULARE | 203,900 | 187,200 | 16,700 | 8.2% |
| TUOLUMNE | 19,640 | 18,860 | 780 | 4.0% |
| VENTURA | 412,700 | 399,300 | 13,400 | 3.2% |
| YOLO | 108,400 | 104,500 | 3,900 | 3.6% |
| YUBA | 30,800 | 29,100 | 1,700 | 5.6% |