California’s record low unemployment extends growth streak; Sacramento posts 3.1% rate
California’s October unemployment rate fell to lows not seen in decades, paced by robust job gains in a number of sectors and a jumpstart in hiring ahead of the holiday shopping season, state employment officials announced Friday.
The state’s 3.9 percent jobless rate in October, adjusted for seasonal variations, set a record dating back to the 1970s, the state’s Employment Development Department announced Friday, down from September’s figure of 4 percent and the 4.1 percent rate from October 2018.
Jobless rates were even less in the Sacramento region. Placer County had a seasonally-unadjusted rate of 2.8 percent, according to the Friday report. Sacramento County was at 3.2 percent.
But as significant, say economists and EDD officials, is California’s continuing job growth – a nearly 10-year, 116-month run that also set a new record, surpassing the state’s streak of economic expansion of the 1960s.
“California’s labor market has been surprisingly resilient this year, despite the headwinds from the U.S.-China trade war and global manufacturing recession,” Bank of the West chief economist Scott Anderson told the Los Angeles Times on Friday.
California has added nearly 3.38 million jobs since February 2010, according to the EDD – a more than 15 percent chunk of the 22.2 million jobs the U.S. added during the same span.
Fewer Californians are out of work at any time since 1989, the EDD’s report added. More than 17.5 million workers are on California payrolls, up from 17.2 million the same time last year.
“It’s another good report – an incredibly strong, consistent string of growth,” said regional economic forecaster Jeffrey Michael, executive director of the Center for Business and Policy Research at the University of the Pacific in Stockton. “It’s sort of remarkable in its longevity. After nine years, it’s impressive to continue to add jobs month to month.”
As strong as the statewide numbers are, October’s jobless rate in the four-county Sacramento region – El Dorado, Placer, Sacramento and Yolo counties – outpaced the state’s at 3.1 percent, virtually unchanged from September’s 3 percent.
While Placer County’s jobless rate was the lowest in the region, El Dorado County wasn’t far behind at 3 percent, unadjusted. Unemployment in Sacramento and Yolo counties each stood at 3.2 percent.
The region added 15,100 jobs to payrolls from October 2018 to October 2019 growing the labor force to more than 1,033,000.
The usual regional tent poles of government, health care and education led Sacramento-area job gains month-to-month on regular seasonal growth in the government sector at the start of the school year. Education hiring by state and local governments increased by 5,800 jobs from September to October.
But September-to-October declines followed in a handful of seasonal industries including the building trades (2,900 jobs); leisure and hospitality (1,700 jobs) and farm, which shed 1,000 jobs.
Non-farm employers added 23,600 workers to their payrolls statewide in October from September across a wide range of sectors – from education and health services to government and jobs that stand under the umbrella of financial activities. The state gained 26,700 jobs in September.
Non-farm jobs also increased by nearly 2 percent year over year in October as employers added 308,000 workers to job rolls, the EDD reported.
This story was originally published November 15, 2019 at 3:28 PM with the headline "California’s record low unemployment extends growth streak; Sacramento posts 3.1% rate."
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