With the California Legislature returning for the final month of session this coming Monday, the Center for Jobs is releasing this special report, which contains metrics on the current jobs and economic outlook for the state. With recent news about the departure of Chevron and Tesla, and large layoffs by Intel, legacy companies are making major announcements that will affect both the current and future economy, especially the state budget.

As discussed in our preliminary report, nonfarm jobs posted more positive results over the past two months, with June’s preliminary number coming in near the pre-pandemic monthly average from 2019. The labor force numbers in contrast, although showing the best results since last December, still reflected a continuing weakness in the state economy. Tying with Nevada, California at 5.2% had the highest unemployment rate among the states for the 5th month in a run. Total unemployment just barely missed the 1 million mark by only 100 workers. Total employment although up in June was down 93,000 for the year and remained 386,000 short of recovery to the pre-pandemic peak.

Both the nonfarm job and employment numbers showed positive gains in June. At 22,500, the nonfarm job gains were in line with the pre-pandemic average of 20,800 from 2019, while the stronger May gains were revised only marginally. These two months of positive news, however, were not enough to offset California’s weak ranking in net jobs growth among the states, which remained in 4th place below North Carolina.

In April, California again posted the highest electricity rates among the contiguous states across all three major end use sectors. California gasoline and diesel remained the highest as well, with taxes and fees rising at the beginning of July to partially offset the drop in price per gallon. The tax and fee component is scheduled to rise substantially over the next few years in response to ongoing Air Resources Board rulemakings.

The May trade numbers in general showed positive news for California. Both origin exports and destination imports were up compared to May 2023. In nominal dollars, total trade through the state’s ports rose in this period, and the share of total US trade, while remaining well below previous highs, continued edging up.

While nonfarm jobs were more positive in May, the labor force numbers continued to post weak results. Although dropping 0.1 point to 5.2%, California’s unemployment rate (seasonally adjusted) was again the highest among the states for the 4th month in a row. The DC rate was marginally higher at 5.3%, but among the states, California was the highest.