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California Job Tracker: October 2014

Published October 10, 2014

State’s Recovery Accelerates

In August, California created more jobs than any other state, with an increase of 44,200 positions.This gain was about twice that of No. 2 Florida (+22,700), or No. 3 Texas (+21,100). The state has outperformed the U.S. in terms of year-over-year job growth for 30 consecutive months.

Seven major metropolitan areas (MSAs) in California have fully recovered their prior peak job levels. These include San Francisco, San Jose, San Diego, San Luis Obispo, El Centro, Bakersfield, and Napa. The seven regions account for 25 percent of the state’s total current employment.

The dates of the pre-Recession peaks varied across the 2006-08 timeframe. Collectively, the seven metropolitan areas have added more than 209,000 jobs relative to their prior employment highs. The San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City area has led with a job gain of more than 94,000. San Jose has followed with a net growth of more than 69,000 positions.

Certain parts of the state still have a ways to go to catch up. Los Angeles, the state’s largest metropolitan area, is down by about 19,000 jobs from its pre-Recession high. If average monthly job growth were to match that experienced during the past year, it would only take about three months for the area to regain its prior peak. The Inland Empire (Riverside and San Bernardino Counties) could regain its prior peak in nine months. Orange County and the Sacramento areas could require over two years to recover without a pickup in job growth from that of the last 12 months.

California continues to show sizable job growth, but much of the power remains concentrated in the San Francisco Bay Area, Silicon Valley, and San Diego. However, the recovery is widening and within the next several months, some major metropolitan areas should be joining the "full recovery club."

See raw data: Employment numbers by region

Figure 2: Regions Where Job Recovery Has Topped Pre-Recession Peak

(Nonfarm employment, seasonally adjusted)

Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, California Employment Development Department, Fermanian Business and Economic Institute