California Economy Adds 17,600 Payroll Jobs

The state reports California´s economy added 17,600 payroll jobs in March.

A survey of employers indicates more than 14-point-seven million people held payroll jobs last month. The preliminary figures were released today by the state´s Employment Development Department.

Farm workers and the self-employed are not included in the survey. Payroll employers added only 110-thousand jobs nationally in March. California typically accounts for about 13 percent of that national total.

A separate survey of households, however, suggests 17-thousand fewer people in California held jobs in March than in February. The survey indicates a gain of 347-thousand over March 2004.

In a third survey, the E-D-D found that 954-thousand Californians were looking for work last month. The March jobless figure represents the lowest number of unemployed in the state since July 2001.