CA Employment Report reveals slow job growth, shrinking labor force

The California Center for Jobs & the Economy has just released their “California Employment Report” for April 2015. Among the most notable highlights from this report:

CA’s unemployment rate declines to 6.3 percent, still 17 percent higher than the national rate:

“For both California and the U.S., improvement in the unemployment rate continues to stem primarily from the shift in the status of the unemployed, as they have moved to the employed category or left the workforce. There has been little change in the overall labor force, and as discussed below, California’s labor force participation rate remains at 1976 levels.

“California’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate is 17 percent higher than the national rate. California’s ranking again improved slightly to be the 11th highest unemployment rate among the states.”

Labor force participation rate remains at 62.3 percent, matching previous low in 1976:

“California’s persistently low participation rate is an indication the state still is not producing sufficient jobs at a wage rate sufficient to draw disengaged workers back into the labor force. This decline in the relative number of workers has an immediate effect on total household income, with its attendant effects on the ability of those households to afford California’s high housing, energy, and other costs of living.”

Six industries remain below 2007 pre-recession job level; construction and manufacturing remain the hardest-hit industries after the recession:

Source: California Employment Development Department, Wage & Salary Jobs (not seasonally adjusted), Average Annual Wage (Q3 2014)

Bay Area continues to dominate employment growth; Inland Empire also shows strong employment growth:

Read the full report here.