California ranks dead last for job growth in the US according to revised employment stats from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
California added workers at a rate of 0.87% in 2023, which was less than half of the national rate of 2%.
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Driving the news: The slow job growth in California is in contrast to the fastest job growth happening in states like Nevada and Florida, which gained 3.4% and 3.3%, respectively. California faced multiple challenges in 2023, including a weakening technology sector, labor unrest, and population outflow, resulting in a shortage of workers.
- Some industries in California experienced job cuts, such as the movie business (down 25%), temp agencies (down 14%), lending (down 9%), and warehouses (down 5%).
- Geographically, San Francisco saw a 1% decrease in jobs, while employment in Los Angeles County and San Jose only grew by 0.3% and 0.4%, respectively.
The backstory: This is not the first time California has ranked last in job growth. In 1993, the state experienced a job count shrinkage of 1% due to a major loss of aerospace work and a real estate crash.
- Over the past 50 years, California has generally been a leader in job growth, with an average annual growth rate of 1.8% compared to the national rate of 1.5%.
- Last year, California ranked 26th among the states for bad job markets, but it was the 13th year in the top 10 for hiring.
- The sluggish hiring pace in 2023 serves as a wake-up call for state leaders, highlighting the need to address the high cost of living and doing business in California.
