California has the highest unemployment rate in the country

In February, California became the state with the highest unemployment rate in the country (5.3% compared to 5.2% in January), exceeding the national average (3.9%).

The state Employment Development Department revealed in a statement new data that shows that employment growth in The Golden State was slower than expected.

California unemployment rate by Veronica Silveri on Scribd

The pace of job growth slowed

Despite the large number of companies from all sectors that The Golden State is home to, the labor market is one of the most concerning issues in the state. In the year 2020, California lost about 2.7 million jobs due in part to the covid-19 pandemic, and although from that moment until today approximately 3 million have been recovered (more than 60,000 per month), the pace of employment growth has slowed down significantly.

The number of people employed in February was 18,321,900 (20,100 Californians less than January and 82,600 less than the same period in 2023). On the other hand, the number of unemployed was 1,027,000 in February (13,100 more than January and 165,400 more compared to February of last year). In total, there was a loss of 3,400 non-agricultural jobs.

Among the sectors that recorded the most job losses:

- Construction ( 9,600 fewer jobs) due "to employment reductions in several industrial subsectors due, in part, to disruptions caused by the multiple 'atmospheric river' storms that hit the state throughout the month."

- Commerce, transportation and public services (7,300 fewer jobs). "Declines in subsectors such as wholesalers of machinery, equipment and supplies contributed to the country overall experiencing lower consumer demand and discretionary spending," the report stated.