Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
California Jobless Rate Falls With Help of Temporary Jobs
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 5 years ago on
September 18, 2020

Share

SACRAMENTO — A raft of temporary government jobs for the U.S. Census boosted California’s economic picture in August as the state added 101,900 jobs and saw its unemployment rate — now at 11.4% — fall below the high-water mark of the Great Recession for the first time since March.

But experts warned that other indicators — including new unemployment claims, consumer spending and job postings — still show the world’s fifth-largest economy has stalled with no quick recovery in sight.

California lost more than 2.6 million jobs in March and April as the government ordered businesses to close and people to stay home to slow the spread of the coronavirus, which has killed more than 14,700 Californians.

California lost more than 2.6 million jobs in March and April as the government ordered businesses to close and people to stay home to slow the spread of the coronavirus, which has killed more than 14,700 Californians.

California has now regained nearly a third of those jobs lost, according to numbers Friday by the Employment Development Department. But the unemployment rate fell in part because the labor force has declined by nearly 800,000 people since February as parents are forced to stay home with their children and others have decided to go back to school to learn new skills in a challenging job market, said Sung Won Sohn, professor of finance and economics at Loyola Marymount University.

“The thing about this pandemic, we tend to talk about the averages and the jobless rate and how many jobs we have created,” he said. “It’s kind of like saying the average depth of the Mississippi River is 3 feet deep. But if you try to walk across, you could drown. And many small businesses are drowning.”

Of the 101,900 jobs added in March, more than 64% were government jobs. Most of those are temporary jobs for the U.S. Census while others can be attributed to local government hires as school started back, at least virtually. Not counting the government jobs, California’s private sector added 35,800 jobs.

The Biggest Losses in California Continue to Come From Restaurants and Hotels

California outperformed the nation as a whole, with its unemployment rate in August falling 2.1 percentage points compared to July while the national rate fell 1.8 percentage points to 8.4%. Six of the state’s 11 industry sectors gained jobs last month. But compared to August of 2019, California has lost nearly 1.6 million nonfarm jobs.

“In some ways, it is difficult to know what to make of this morning’s numbers,” said Michael Bernick, former director of the state Employment Development Department and an attorney with Duane Morris. “They are not consistent with the numbers we’ve seen over the past month on new unemployment claims in California which have been running very high.”

The biggest losses in California continue to come from restaurants and hotels and other hospitality businesses, which lost another 14,600 jobs in August.

Of California’s 58 counties, state officials say the coronavirus is “widespread” in 30 of them, a designation that imposes automatic bans on indoor dining and other business restrictions. The numbers have been improving statewide, but outbreaks continue to pop up, most notably in San Diego County. The fifth-most populous county in the country is in danger of being moved back to the “widespread” category, which could trigger another round of business closings.

In Los Angeles County, the nation’s most populous with more than 10 million residents, the economic downturn continues to have an outsized impact because of its service and entertainment-heavy economy and its large number of minority-owned small businesses. The county’s unemployment rate is 16.6%, more than 5 percentage points higher than the statewide average.

Only Imperial County’s 22.9% unemployment rate is higher.

DON'T MISS

Senate Rebukes Trump’s Tariffs as Some Republicans Vote to Halt Taxes on Canadian Imports

DON'T MISS

Supreme Court Sides With the FDA in Its Dispute Over Sweet-Flavored Vaping Products

DON'T MISS

Trump Announces Sweeping New Tariffs to Promote US Manufacturing, Risking Inflation and Trade Wars

DON'T MISS

Fresno Firefighters Save Dog From Canal and Now She’s Ready for Adoption

DON'T MISS

Big Brands Spend Just Enough on X to Avoid Musk’s ‘Naughty List’

DON'T MISS

Judge Dismisses Corruption Case Against New York City Mayor Eric Adams

DON'T MISS

State Center Trustees Render Split Decision on Future of PLAs

DON'T MISS

California’s Schools Chief Has a $200,000 Salary and a Side Gig

DON'T MISS

Why Project Labor Agreements Are Good for Our Schools and Students: Opinion

DON'T MISS

Trump Proposes Tax Deduction for Auto Loan Interest on US-Made Cars

UP NEXT

Trump Proposes Tax Deduction for Auto Loan Interest on US-Made Cars

UP NEXT

Western US Sees Sharp Increase in Extreme Weather Impact

UP NEXT

7-Year-Old Girl Was Killed by a Falling Boulder at a Lake Tahoe Ski Resort

UP NEXT

Xavier Becerra Enters 2026 California Governor’s Race

UP NEXT

Inside a $17 Billion Maintenance Backlog Plaguing California’s Universities

UP NEXT

California Lawmakers Reject Bills to Restrict Transgender Youth in School Sports

UP NEXT

Elon Musk Reclaims Top Spot on Forbes’ Billionaires List

UP NEXT

California Just Blew Its First Deadline for Voter-Approved Healthcare Measure

UP NEXT

Lakers Hold Off Rockets With 6 3-Pointers Apiece From Dorian Finney-Smith, Gabe Vincent

UP NEXT

Athletics Bat Boy Stewart Thalblum Takes Down Drone in Left Field

Fresno Firefighters Save Dog From Canal and Now She’s Ready for Adoption

13 hours ago

Big Brands Spend Just Enough on X to Avoid Musk’s ‘Naughty List’

13 hours ago

Judge Dismisses Corruption Case Against New York City Mayor Eric Adams

13 hours ago

State Center Trustees Render Split Decision on Future of PLAs

13 hours ago

California’s Schools Chief Has a $200,000 Salary and a Side Gig

14 hours ago

Why Project Labor Agreements Are Good for Our Schools and Students: Opinion

14 hours ago

Trump Proposes Tax Deduction for Auto Loan Interest on US-Made Cars

15 hours ago

Western US Sees Sharp Increase in Extreme Weather Impact

15 hours ago

Amazon Said to Make a Bid to Buy TikTok in the US

15 hours ago

Fresno Man Found Dead, Coroner’s Office Seeks Help Finding Family

15 hours ago

Senate Rebukes Trump’s Tariffs as Some Republicans Vote to Halt Taxes on Canadian Imports

WASHINGTON — The Senate passed a resolution Wednesday night that would thwart President Donald Trump’s ability to impose tariffs on Canada, ...

8 hours ago

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., center, is joined from left by Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt., and Sen. Angela Alsobrooks, D-Md., as they speak to reporters about President Donald Trump's tariffs on foreign countries, at the Capitol, in Washington, Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
8 hours ago

Senate Rebukes Trump’s Tariffs as Some Republicans Vote to Halt Taxes on Canadian Imports

12 hours ago

Supreme Court Sides With the FDA in Its Dispute Over Sweet-Flavored Vaping Products

12 hours ago

Trump Announces Sweeping New Tariffs to Promote US Manufacturing, Risking Inflation and Trade Wars

A young Labrador mix rescued from a Fresno canal on Sunday, March 2, 2025, is thriving in a foster home after overcoming fear and trauma. (Instagram/Fresno Animal Center)
13 hours ago

Fresno Firefighters Save Dog From Canal and Now She’s Ready for Adoption

13 hours ago

Big Brands Spend Just Enough on X to Avoid Musk’s ‘Naughty List’

13 hours ago

Judge Dismisses Corruption Case Against New York City Mayor Eric Adams

13 hours ago

State Center Trustees Render Split Decision on Future of PLAs

14 hours ago

California’s Schools Chief Has a $200,000 Salary and a Side Gig

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend