California Unemployment Falls to 4.6% on Public Sector Growth
AGENDA 21 RADIO
BY CHRISS STREET, NEWPORT BEACH, CA
Strong public-sector employment growth helped California’s unemployment rate fall to 4.6 percent.
California generated nonfarm payrolls growth of 47,400 in November. That was the equivalent to 3.6 percent growth rate during the month and set the all-time lowest unemployment rate since the California Employment Development Department (EDD) began collecting the data in 1976.
November saw almost twice the average growth of 24,400 jobs for the twelve-month November 2016 to November 2017, generating a much more modest annual growth of just 1.7 percent for the year.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor reported that California after leading the nation in job growth over the last few years, has seen its rank fell to 35th in the last twelve months.
Nine of California’s eleven industry sectors added a total of 292,400 jobs over the last twelve months. The biggest job gains were in educational and health services, up 88,100 jobs, a 3.4 percent increase, leisure and hospitality, up 56,400 jobs, a 2.9 percent increase, and construction up 48,400 jobs, a 6.2 percent increase. Other sectors adding jobs over the year included government; trade, transportation and utilities, other services, professional and business services, information, and financial activities.
The two sectors that posted job losses over the last year were manufacturing down 3,800 jobs, minus 0.3 percent, and mining and logging down 300 jobs, minus 1.3 percent.
The Bay Area led the state with a 16,000 job gain in November, according to EDD. San Francisco and San Mateo counties added 10,000 jobs in November, Santa Clara County added 4,100 jobs and Alameda County saw the job growth of 2,600.
November continued the annual trend that Breitbart California highlighted in September: ‘Government Booms While Private Sector Crawls.’ California’s government heavy educational, health services and social assistance continue to grow at about 3 percent, while the private sector heavy information technology and professional services grew at less 1 percent.
It is unclear how much longer the government sector can be the economic engine of California, given that Gov. Brown has been warning the state’s eight-year economic expansion will not last forever and the next “moderate recession” could cause state revenues to fall by $55 billion over the next three years. To put the size of this challenge in perspective, the annual general government payroll and benefits budget is $10 billion.
Although California ranked first in the nation in 2016 with GDP growth at twice the national average, the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis report for state GDP growth in the first half of 2017 revealed that California’s national rank dropped to the 35th, as growth fell to about half the national average. The BEA also found that California’s second-quarter GDP fell in almost every category, but the worst sector was manufacturing that turned negative.
