California Added 11,100 Jobs in November

NR No. 24-43
Contact: Loree Levy/Greg Lawson
916-654-9029
mediainquiries@edd.ca.gov

Important Note: The employment data for the month of November 2024 comes from the survey week that included November 12. Data for December is scheduled for release on January 24, 2025.

Unemployment Rate Remains 5.4 Percent in November

SACRAMENTO – California gained 11,100 nonfarm payroll jobs¹ in November 2024 and the unemployment rate stayed at 5.4 percent², according to the latest Employment Development Department (EDD) data. October’s job numbers were revised up to a 9,100 job gain following the receipt of more responses after the survey collection week.

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

• Nonfarm jobs grew nearly every month in 2024 (other than small February and August losses)—with a year-to-date gain of 167,000 jobs.

• The job market expansion reached 55 months in November 2024. California gained 3,182,400 jobs—averaging 57,862 per month—since April 2020.

• Five of California's 11 industry sectors gained jobs in November with Private Education & Health Services (+13,100) leading the way with significant gains in healthcare-related industry groups.

• For the ninth consecutive month, Trade, Transportation, & Utilities (+5,700) showed an increase with many of its gains happening in retail, and couriers and messengers, as holiday hiring ramped up and activity increased at California ports.

• Financial Activities (-4,400) showed the largest month-over reduction due to weakness in the Real Estate and Rental and Leasing subsector as well as in some financial investment-related fields.

_{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 (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 18,115,900 in November – a net gain of 11,100 from October. This followed an upward-revised (+14,600) month-over gain of 9,100 jobs in October.
• Year-over – Total nonfarm jobs increased by 208,500 (a 1.2 percent increase) from November 2023 to November 2024 compared to the U.S. annual gain of 2,274,000 jobs (a 1.4 percent increase).

Total Farm Jobs – The number of jobs in the agriculture industry increased from October by 13,500 to a total of 424,400 jobs in November. The agriculture industry had 26,200 fewer farm jobs in November 2024 than it did in November of last year.

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 November was 18,341,000, a decrease of 19,600 persons from October’s total of 18,360,600 but up 9,100 from the employment total in November 2023.
• Unemployed – The number of unemployed Californians was 1,055,000 in November, an increase of 9,300 over the month and up 61,500 in comparison to November 2023.

Unemployment Insurance Claims (Not Seasonally Adjusted)

The following data is from a sample week that includes the 19^th of each month:

In related data that figures into the State’s unemployment rate, there were 364,202 people certifying for Unemployment Insurance (UI) benefits during the November 2024 sample week. That compares to 343,588 people in October and 323,975 people in November 2023. Concurrently, 48,279 initial claims were processed in the November 2024 sample week, which was a month-over increase of 7,448 claims from October as well as a year-over increase of 10,685 claims from November 2023.