Clovis leads the way among Fresno County cities recovering from the economic devastation of the COVID-19 pandemic. The latest figures released by the state Economic Development Department show Clovis with a 5.6% unemployment rate for November. Among a labor force of 53,700 people, 3,000 were unemployed in Clovis, according to...
California Unemployment Rate Held Steady at 3.9% in December
SACRAMENTO — California's unemployment rate held steady at the record low 3.9% in December, the state said Friday. California added 12,600 nonfarm payroll jobs during the month, the Employment Development Department said. Those gains extend California’s record job expansion to 118 months. The current expansion began in February 2010. The...
US Added a Solid 128,000 Jobs in October Despite GM Strike
WASHINGTON — U.S. employers added a solid 128,000 jobs in October, a figure that was held down by a now-settled strike against General Motors that caused tens of thousands of workers to be temporarily counted as unemployed. The unemployment rate ticked up from 3.5% to 3.6%, still near a five-decade...
Fresno County Unemployment Rate Hits Historic Low of 5.3%
The California economy keeps humming along, and Valley communities are hopping aboard the jobs train. Officials said Friday that California's unemployment rate fell to a record low of 4% in September. It also was a record-setting month for Fresno (5.3%), Kings (5.7%), Madera (5.0%) and Merced (5.5%) counties, according to the...
California Unemployment Rate Held Steady at 4.1% in August
SACRAMENTO — California's unemployment rate held steady at the record low of 4.1% in August as the state's period of job gains reached 114 months, exceeding the expansion of the 1960s. The California Employment Development Department says Friday the state's employers added 34,500 nonfarm payroll jobs last month. The rate...
California's 113-Month Job Growth Ties Record Set in 1960s
SACRAMENTO — California officials announced Friday that job growth in the world's fifth-largest economy is in its 113th month — tying the expansion of the 1960s as the longest on record. The country's most populous state needs between 8,000 and 9,000 new jobs each month to keep up with its...
At White House, Kardashian Promotes Prisoner Reentry Effort
WASHINGTON — Reality star-turned-criminal justice reform advocate Kim Kardashian West returned to the White House on Thursday to help President Donald Trump promote efforts to help those leaving prison get jobs and stay on track. At an East Room event attended by Cabinet secretaries, activist and formerly incarcerated people, Kardashian...
Wages Surge as US Adds a Robust 250,000 Jobs in October
WASHINGTON — U.S. businesses ramped up hiring in October, and wages rose by the largest year-over-year amount in nearly a decade, a combination that is pulling a rising share of Americans into the job market. In the final major economic report before Tuesday's congressional elections, the government said Friday that...
Walters: Labor Shortage Could Slow California's Economy
California’s latest employment report is nothing short of astounding. The state’s unemployment rate, which topped 12 percent during the Great Recession a decade ago, declined to a record low 4.1 percent in September as employment rolls continued to expand, up 339,600 workers over the previous year. The state had 17.2...
US Unemployment Rate Is Lowest Since 1969 at 3.7%
WASHINGTON — The U.S. unemployment rate fell to 3.7 percent in September — the lowest level since December 1969 — signaling how the longest streak of hiring on record has put millions of Americans back to work. Employers added just 134,000 jobs last month, the fewest in a year, the...