CALIFORNIA EMPLOYMENT GROWTH SINCE THE PANDEMIC US LABOR MARKET STILL HOT, DESPITE ECONOMIC CONCERNS

The BLS has tracked Job Openings and Labor Turnover (the JOLTs report) only since 2000. This data typically lags the monthly unemployment figures by one month. The most current data available as this report went to press was November 2022.

As of November 2022, there were a total of 10.5 million available positions in the US according to the BLS. While this number has steadily been dropping since peaking at 11.9 million in March 2022, it is critical to note that the number of available jobs in March of this year was a record since the BLS began recording this data over 20 years ago.

Similar labor trends have played out in the Golden State. While Leisure & Hospitality, Government, Other Services, Manufacturing, and Mining & Logging all have shed employment since 2020 but the remaining categories have posted enough gains to offset those losses.

All told, the state has created 89,000 more jobs than there were before the pandemic. The three categories that make up the lion’s share of office using employment have alone created more than 124,000 positions.

To put this in perspective, there were 6.3 million available jobs at the close of 2017—a year in which the economy was relatively healthy. There are now roughly 40% more positions available, despite elevated inflation and economic concerns, than there were then.