Muristek
By SETH SANDRONSKY
THE CENTER SQUARE CONTRIBUTOR
(The Center Square) – California’s employers added 19,900 nonfarm payroll jobs in June, a decrease from a downward revised (-2,100) gain of 40,800 jobs in May, according to the state Employment Development Department. In June, the Golden State’s unemployment rate dipped to 4.2% from May’s 4.3%.
Meanwhile, the nation’s unemployment rate remained at 3.6% in June, matching May. Nationally, employers’ payrolls added 372,000 new jobs in June compared with 390,000 in May. According to the state EDD, California has regained “93.6% (2,582,900) of the 2,758,900 nonfarm jobs lost during March and April of 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.” In June 2022, the Golden State had its sixth straight month of job growth and the 12th consecutive month with a decline in unemployment.
In June, seven of California’s 11 industry sectors gained nonfarm payroll jobs versus eight sectors with employment growth in May and April. Trade and transportation led the way in June, with 9,600 new jobs. The information sector had the most new jobs added in May with 8,800 hires.
Leisure and hospitality employers added 4,900 new hires in June versus 8,800 in May. Leisure and hospitality employment plummeted sharply during the coronavirus pandemic.
Meanwhile, professional and business services and construction lost 6,100 jobs each in June. A drop for the former in accounting and employment services and decreases in building foundation and exterior contractors for the construction sector (which had added 7,100 new hires in May) was the cause of June’s job losses in the two sectors, according to the EDD. In May, trade, transportation, and utilities employers topped the industry sector list for largest month-over job loss of 3,700 employees.
There were 18,544,500 Californians employed in June, up 75,000 from May’s figure of 18,469,500, and a rise of 1,027,100 from the employment total in June 2021, according to the state EDD. There were 819,500 unemployed Californians in June, a drop of 9,800 over the month and a decrease of 684,400 versus June 2021.
Against the backdrop of slower job growth in California, the Dept. of Labor reported that inflation, a general rise in prices, is at a four-decade high. To slow inflation, the Federal Reserve, the nation’s central bank, is hiking interest rates, or the price of borrowing money. That monetary move runs the risk of spurring a recession, a decline of gross domestic product for two straight quarters.
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