California’s December Jobless Rate Unchanged
Sonora, CA – California’s December jobless rate held steady at 4.1, while the Mother Lode’s numbers were slightly better, but the state closed out the year with consecutive monthly job growth.
The California Employment Development Department released its December and year-end figures for last year on Friday. It showed that for the fifteenth consecutive month, California has seen job growth, with 16,200 jobs added in December. That brings year-over-year job growth to 621,400, with nine of the eleven industry sectors adding jobs.
“California continues leading the nation’s economy,” said Governor Gavin Newsom. “December closed out a year of consecutive monthly job growth in 2022 – all as the state continues sending unprecedented support to working families with the largest tax refund in California history.”
In the Mother Lode, Tuolumne County’s rate ticked down from 4.3 percent in November to 4.0 percent last month. With a labor force of 19,640, that has left 780 without jobs. Calaveras also saw a slight decrease from 3.4 percent in November to 3.2 percent in December, with 690 out of a workforce of 21,900 without work.
Nine of California’s 11 industry sectors gained jobs in December, with education and health services adding the most jobs at 8,200, followed by construction at 7,500. Trade, transportation, and utilities incurred the most job losses, totaling 11,100.
Year over year, California job growth (3.6 percent) has outpaced the U.S. as a whole (3.0 percent) by 0.6 percentage points. The US rate for December is 3.5 percent. The education and health services, leisure and hospitality, professional and business services, and trade, transportation, and utility sectors had the highest year-over-year job growth in 2022.
