California’s jobless rate increased to 8.7 percent even if the state managed to add 38,100 jobs last month. The unemployment rate was up from 8.5 percent in June. This was according to the report from the California Employment Development Department.
Hiring increased in seven sectors, led by professional and business services with 15,000 jobs in July. Other industries that got gains in the month were manufacturing with 2,500 jobs, educational and health services with 6,600, and leisure and hospitality with 5,200 jobs.
The construction sector got the largest job losses in July with 7,300 jobs. Mining and logging lost 200 jobs. Government lost 3,900 jobs.
Despite the gain in the jobless rate, California has outpaced the nation in job creation over the past year. Since July of 2012, the state’s payrolls have gained 1.6 percent and added 236,400 jobs.
In July, the United States added 162,000 jobs. California’s 28,100 jobs meant that the state got almost a quarter of new positions made in July. While the state added jobs last month, the number of people employed dropped compared to the number in June. This was the reason for the increase in the jobless rate.
Economists have speculated that the drop was due to the decline in the number of self-employed workers such as freelancers and consultants. They might have focused on finding payroll positions.
California’s jobless rate is high compared to other states such as Ohio, which remained at 7.2 percent in July. The state added 5,300 jobs but 3,000 more people became unemployed according to the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services. The unemployment rate remained unchanged from the same month last year. Non-farm wage and employment in Ohio remained at 5.2 million, which was up 5,300 from the previous month. 9,100 jobs were added by the private sector.
Leave a Reply