Employers add 28,400 nonfarm jobs, record job expansion continues

SACRAMENTO – California’s unemployment rate maintained its record low of 3.9 percent in November while the state’s employers added 28,400 nonfarm payroll jobs, according to data released today by the California Employment Development Department (EDD) from two surveys. The job gains in November contribute to a record job expansion in California of 117 months, surpassing the long expansion of the 1960s. California has gained 3,414,700 jobs since the expansion began in February 2010, accounting for more than 15 percent of the nation’s 22,537,000 job gain over the same timeframe.

California’s Labor Market, by the Numbers…

• The state’s unemployment stayed at 3.9 percent¹ in November, maintaining a record low in a data series going back to the 1970s. The number of unemployed Californians is the lowest since 1989 despite large gains in statewide population since then.
• California’s record low unemployment rate in November coincides with a 0.1 percentage point decline in the national unemployment rate (3.5 percent) for the month.
• November’s 28,400 nonfarm payroll² gain extended California’s current job expansion to an all-time record of 117 months. Eight of California’s 11 industry sectors showed growth. Topping the list are Educational and Health Services (15,000), powered mostly by ambulatory health care services, and Information (8,600), with motion picture and sound recording showing large gains within the industry.
• Unseasonal softness in traditional brick-and-mortar wholesale contributed to a November decline in trade, transportation, and utilities employment (-2,300); and correlatively, month-over courier and messenger (i.e. delivery) employment was strong.

<sub>1. The unemployment rate comes from a federal survey of 5,100 California households.
2. The nonfarm payroll job numbers come from a separate federal survey of 80,000 California businesses.</sub>

Data Trends about Jobs in the Economy

Total Nonfarm Payroll Jobs (Comes from a monthly survey of approximately 80,000 California businesses that estimates jobs in the economy – seasonally adjusted)

• Month-over – Total nonfarm jobs in California’s 11 major industries totaled 17,604,300 in November – a net gain of 28,400 jobs from October. This followed a revised gain of 32,000 jobs in October.
• Year-over – Total nonfarm jobs increased by 321,800 jobs (a 1.9 percent increase) from November 2018 to November 2019 compared to the U.S. annual gain of 2,204,000 jobs (a 1.5 percent increase).

Total Farm jobs – The number of jobs in the agriculture industry increased by 3,500 jobs from October to 436,000. The agricultural industry has added 6,200 farm jobs since November 2018.

Data Trends about Workers in the Economy

Employment and Unemployment in California (Based on monthly federal survey of 5,100 California households which focuses on workers in the economy)

• Employed – The number of Californians holding jobs in November was 18,730,500, an increase of 53,700 from October and up 22,700 from the employment total in November of last year.
• Unemployed – The number of unemployed Californians was 761,700 in November, a decrease of 3,700 over the month and down by 39,800 compared with November of last year.

Unemployment Insurance Claims (not seasonally adjusted) In related data that figures into the state’s unemployment rate, there were 293,595 people receiving Unemployment Insurance benefits during the survey week in November compared to 260,709 in October and 261,022 people in November 2018. Concurrently, 49,436 people filed new claims in November which was a month-over increase of 10,035 people.