Employers Added 93,500 Jobs
Important Note: The employment data for the month of January 2026 comes from the survey week that included January 12. February 2026 data will be released on April 17. Statistics released today reflect updates to initial 2025 monthly estimates as part of the annual benchmark revision.
SACRAMENTO — California’s unemployment rate came in at 5.4%1 in January 2026, a decrease from the December 2025 rate of 5.5%. In addition, the State’s employers added 93,500 nonfarm payroll jobs2. These recent data points released by the Employment Development Department (EDD) come from two separate surveys. In addition, as a result of annual benchmark revisions updating past estimates, California’s job loss of 11,100 in 2025 was revised to a gain of 56,600 while the nation’s estimated year-over gain of 584,000 jobs was revised down to 116,000 jobs – a decline of 468,000 jobs in 2025.
California's Labor Market, by the Numbers...
- California’s unemployment rate declined by 0.1 percentage point over the month, matching the national month-over change. Year-over, the State’s unemployment rate has held steady, while the national rate has increased by 0.3 percentage points over the same timeframe.
- January’s month-over job gain (+93,500) was the largest since January 2024. The state’s jobs accounted for more than 74 percent of the nation’s gain of 126,000 jobs in January 2026.
- January marked the third consecutive month that unemployment has decreased in California, with the largest month-over unemployment decrease since August 2022.
- Eight of California's 11 industry sectors gained jobs in December, with Private Education and Health Services (+31,800) showing gains for the 27th consecutive month, driven by California’s aging population. The industry posted gains in Offices of Physicians, Home Health Care Services, General/Medical Surgical Hospitals, and Child Day Care Services.
- Information (-1,400) experienced the largest month-over loss due to larger-than-expected declines in Motion Picture and Video Industries, Software Publishers, and Web Search Portals, and Other Information Services.
1. The unemployment rate comes from a separate federal survey of 4,400 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, seasonally adjusted, of approximately 80,000 California businesses)
- Month-over — Total nonfarm jobs in 11 major industries totaled 18,156,000 in January – a gain of 93,500 from December. This followed December’s post-benchmark revision of 41,300 jobs, resulting in a month-over December gain of 3,500 jobs.
- Year-over — Total nonfarm jobs increased by 131,200 (1% increase) from January 2025 to January 2026 compared to the U.S. year-over gain of 130,000 jobs (0.1% increase).
| Major Industries | Month-over Change (Dec. 2025 - Jan. 2026) |
Year-over Change (Jan. 2025 - Jan. 2026) |
Total Payroll Jobs as of Jan. 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Private Education and Health Services |
+31,800 | +192,100 | 3,579,600 |
|
Leisure and Hospitality |
+22,200 | +37,300 | 2,053,400 |
|
Professional and Business Services |
+13,900 | +8,700 | 2,766,400 |
|
Other Services |
+11,400 | +14,700 | 606,700 |
|
Trade, Transportation, and Utilities |
+6,700 | -6,900 | 3,057,300 |
|
Construction |
+6,100 | -15,400 | 886,900 |
|
Manufacturing |
+2,700 | -16,600 | 1,215,800 |
|
Financial Activities |
+1,500 | -4,700 | 790,100 |
|
Mining and Logging |
-100 | -400 | 18,200 |
|
Government |
-1,300 | -75,200 | 2,661,000 |
|
Information |
-1,400 | -2,400 | 520,600 |
Total Farm Jobs — Agriculture industry jobs decreased from December by 22,100 to 406,800 jobs in January. Agriculture had 11,700 more farm jobs in January 2026 than it did in January 2025.
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 January was 18,779,800, down 5,100 from December’s total and up 77,300 compared to January of last year.
- Unemployed — The number of unemployed Californians was 1,082,300 in January, a decrease of 10,900 over the month, but an increase of 20,500 from January 2025.
| California Labor Force | Month-over Change (Dec. 2025 – Jan. 2026) | Year-over Change (Jan. 2025 – Jan. 2026) |
|---|---|---|
| * Civilian Labor Force (19,862,200) | -15,800 | +98,000 |
| Total Civilian Employment (18,779,800) | -5,100 | +77,300 |
| Unemployment (1,082,300) | -10,900 | +20,500 |
* 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 375,219 people certifying for Unemployment Insurance (UI) benefits during the January 2026 sample week. That compares to 386,980 people in December and 394,387 people in January 2025. Concurrently,43,344 initial claims were processed in the January 2026 sample week, which was a month-over decrease of 4,148 claims from December and a year-over decrease of 2,765 claims from January 2025.
| California Unemployment Insurance Claims | Month-over Change (Dec. 2025 – Jan. 2026) | Year-over Change (Jan. 2025 – Jan. 2026) |
|---|---|---|
| UI Recipients (375,219) | -11,761 | -19,168 |
| New UI Claims (43,344) | -4,148 | -2,675 |
| COUNTY | LABOR FORCE | EMPLOYMENT | UNEMPLOYMENT | RATE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| STATE TOTAL |
19,622,900 |
18,537,900 |
1,085,000 |
5.5% |
| ALAMEDA |
860,200 |
820,300 |
39,900 |
4.6% |
| ALPINE |
590 |
550 |
40 |
6.6% |
| AMADOR |
14,700 |
13,740 |
960 |
6.5% |
| BUTTE |
89,600 |
83,700 |
5,900 |
6.6% |
| CALAVERAS |
17,380 |
16,190 |
1,200 |
6.9% |
| COLUSA |
11,220 |
9,220 |
2,000 |
17.8% |
| CONTRA COSTA |
577,200 |
549,700 |
27,500 |
4.8% |
| DEL NORTE |
9,250 |
8,600 |
650 |
7.0% |
| EL DORADO |
89,900 |
85,200 |
4,700 |
5.2% |
| FRESNO |
472,700 |
430,900 |
41,900 |
8.9% |
| GLENN |
11,670 |
10,720 |
950 |
8.1% |
| HUMBOLDT |
59,500 |
56,100 |
3,400 |
5.6% |
| IMPERIAL |
74,400 |
60,500 |
13,900 |
18.6% |
| INYO |
8,230 |
7,810 |
420 |
5.1% |
| KERN |
408,700 |
371,300 |
37,500 |
9.2% |
| KINGS |
59,400 |
53,400 |
5,900 |
10.0% |
| LAKE |
26,530 |
24,350 |
2,190 |
8.2% |
| LASSEN |
8,260 |
7,620 |
630 |
7.6% |
| LOS ANGELES |
5,112,600 |
4,833,400 |
279,200 |
5.5% |
| MADERA |
69,900 |
63,900 |
6,000 |
8.6% |
| MARIN |
122,400 |
117,300 |
5,100 |
4.2% |
| MARIPOSA |
6,720 |
6,200 |
520 |
7.7% |
| MENDOCINO |
36,030 |
33,680 |
2,350 |
6.5% |
| MERCED |
123,900 |
110,800 |
13,100 |
10.6% |
| MODOC |
2,990 |
2,710 |
280 |
9.2% |
| MONO |
8,160 |
7,810 |
350 |
4.3% |
| MONTEREY |
208,200 |
186,200 |
22,000 |
10.6% |
| NAPA |
72,000 |
68,500 |
3,500 |
4.9% |
| NEVADA |
47,190 |
44,820 |
2,360 |
5.0% |
| ORANGE |
1,606,200 |
1,540,100 |
66,100 |
4.1% |
| PLACER |
207,900 |
198,700 |
9,200 |
4.4% |
| PLUMAS |
7,250 |
6,480 |
770 |
10.6% |
| RIVERSIDE |
1,197,300 |
1,131,500 |
65,800 |
5.5% |
| SACRAMENTO |
782,800 |
742,200 |
40,600 |
5.2% |
| SAN BENITO |
34,200 |
31,700 |
2,500 |
7.2% |
| SAN BERNARDINO |
1,035,300 |
979,900 |
55,400 |
5.3% |
| SAN DIEGO |
1,650,300 |
1,573,200 |
77,200 |
4.7% |
| SAN FRANCISCO |
499,600 |
479,400 |
20,300 |
4.1% |
| SAN JOAQUIN |
374,800 |
349,100 |
25,700 |
6.8% |
| SAN LUIS OBISPO |
130,500 |
124,500 |
6,000 |
4.6% |
| SAN MATEO |
408,600 |
393,100 |
15,500 |
3.8% |
| SANTA BARBARA |
218,400 |
206,400 |
12,000 |
5.5% |
| SANTA CLARA |
1,024,700 |
982,000 |
42,700 |
4.2% |
| SANTA CRUZ |
135,600 |
126,000 |
9,600 |
7.1% |
| SHASTA |
81,700 |
76,900 |
4,800 |
5.9% |
| SIERRA |
1,340 |
1,250 |
90 |
6.5% |
| SISKIYOU |
15,880 |
14,360 |
1,510 |
9.5% |
| SOLANO |
218,300 |
206,300 |
12,000 |
5.5% |
| SONOMA |
244,000 |
232,900 |
11,100 |
4.6% |
| STANISLAUS |
253,400 |
234,600 |
18,900 |
7.4% |
| SUTTER |
45,600 |
41,000 |
4,600 |
10.1% |
| TEHAMA |
27,120 |
25,320 |
1,800 |
6.6% |
| TRINITY |
5,450 |
5,080 |
370 |
6.8% |
| TULARE |
220,300 |
195,800 |
24,500 |
11.1% |
| TUOLUMNE |
21,570 |
20,300 |
1,260 |
5.9% |
| VENTURA |
416,700 |
395,900 |
20,800 |
5.0% |
| YOLO |
112,400 |
105,400 |
7,100 |
6.3% |
| YUBA |
36,100 |
33,400 |
2,700 |
7.4% |