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California’s unemployment rate rose to 4.0 percent for Oct. 2022

Published:

NR No. 22-38
Contact: Loree Levy/Aubrey Henry
916-654-9029
mediainquiries@edd.ca.gov

IMPORTANT NOTE: The employment data for the month of October 2022 is taken from the survey week including Oct. 12th. Data for the month of November is scheduled for release on December 16, 2022.

Employers added 56,700 nonfarm payroll jobs

SACRAMENTO – California’s unemployment rate increased in the month of October 2022 to 4.0 percent1 despite the state’s employers adding 56,700 nonfarm payroll jobs2 to the economy, according to data released today by the California Employment Development Department (EDD) from two surveys. The state has also now completed its full recovery from the large job loss during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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California’s Labor Market, by the Numbers...

  • September 2022’s unemployment rate was revised down to 3.8 percent, which became the lowest ever on record for California in a data set that dates back to 1976.
  • The state has not only regained all of the 2,758,900 nonfarm jobs lost during March and April of 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it has now surpassed it with a gain of 2,789,700 (101.1 percent) nonfarm jobs since that time.
  • October 2022 marked the 13th consecutive month of nonfarm job gains for a total increase of 768,100 jobs over that time period and a monthly average of 59,085 jobs.
  • Eight of California’s 11 industry sectors gained jobs in October with Education & Health Services (+16,800) showing the largest month-over gains thanks to above average gains in Outpatient Care Services, Nursing Care Facilities, and Individual and Family Services.
  • Professional and Business Services (+16,400) also had strong growth thanks, in part, to above average gains in Accounting and Tax Prep and Bookkeeping Services.
  • Government (-8,700) again led the way in job losses with a third consecutive decline in State Government and the second straight month of losses in Local Government.

1. The unemployment rate comes from a separate federal survey of 5,100 California households.

2. The nonfarm payroll job numbers come from a federal survey of 80,000 California businesses.

Data Trends about Jobs in the Economy

Total Nonfarm Payroll Jobs

Total Nonfarm Payroll Jobs (Comes from a monthly survey of approximately 80,000 California businesses that estimates jobs in the economy – seasonally adjusted)

  • Month-over – Total nonfarm jobs in California’s 11 major industries totaled 17,722,700 in October – a net gain of 56,700 jobs from September. This followed a downward revised (-1,200) month-over gain of 5,300 jobs in September.
  • Year-over – Total nonfarm jobs increased by 695,500 (a 4.1 percent increase) from October 2021 to October 2022 compared to the U.S. annual gain 5,303,000 jobs (a 3.6 percent increase).

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Major Industries Month-over Change (September 2022–October 2022) Year-over Change (October 2021–October 2022) Total Payroll Jobs as of October 2022

Education and Health Services

+16,800 +141,700 2,973,600

Professional and Business Services

+16,400 +126,700 2,868,500

Leisure and Hospitality

+13,500 +146,600 1,933,600

Manufacturing

+6,400 +39,200 1,317,000

Trade, Transp., Utilities

+4,600 +104,000 3,162,300

Information

+4,100 +27,900 612,000

Financial Activities 

+3,600 +13,000 835,000

Other Services

+100 +30,800 552,000
Mining and Logging NO CHANGE +200 19,200

Construction

-100 +38,400 919,600

Government

-8,700 +27,000 2,529,900

 

Total Farm jobs – The number of jobs in the agriculture industry decreased from September by 100 to a total of 410,700 jobs in October. The agricultural industry had 3,000 more farm jobs in October 2022 than it did in October a year ago.

Data Trends about Workers in the Economy

Employment and Unemployment in California (Based on a monthly federal survey of 5,100 California households which focuses on workers in the economy)

  • Employed – The number of Californians employed in October was 18,502,900, a decrease of 40,500 persons from September’s total of 18,543,400, but up 642,100 from the employment total in October
  • Unemployed – The number of unemployed Californians was 776,600 in October, an increase of 35,400 over the month, but down 386,900 in comparison to October 2021.
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California Labor Force Month-over Change (September 2022–October 2022) Year-over Change (October 2021–October 2022)
* Civilian Labor Force (19,279,500) -5,100 +255,100
Total Civilian Employment (18,502,900) -40,500 +642,100
Unemployment (776,600) +35,400 -386,900

* Labor force by place of residence, including workers involved in trade disputes.

Unemployment Insurance Claims (Not Seasonally Adjusted)

The following data is from a sample week that includes the 19th of each month: In related data that figures into the state’s unemployment rate, there were 289,716 people certifying for Unemployment Insurance benefits during the October 2022 sample week. That compares to 294,085 people in September and 463,257 people in October 2021. Concurrently, 38,186 initial claims were processed in the October 2022 sample week, which was a month-over increase of 3,685 claims from September and a year-over decrease of 21,693 claims from October 2021.

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California Unemployment Insurance Claims Month-over Change (September 2022–October 2022) Year-over Change (October 2021–October 2022)
UI Recipients (289,716) -4,369 -173,541
New UI Claims (38,186) +3,685 -21,693
MONTHLY LABOR FORCE DATA FOR COUNTIES
October 2022 (Preliminary); 2021 Benchmark
NOT SEASONALLY ADJUSTED
COUNTY LABOR FORCE EMPLOYMENT UNEMPLOYMENT RATE
STATE TOTAL 19,213,500 18,487,200 726,300 3.8%
ALAMEDA 830,300 805,900 24,400 2.9%
ALPINE 450 430 20 5.3%
AMADOR 14,440 13,860 580 4.0%
BUTTE 93,400 89,800 3,600 3.8%
CALAVERAS 21,970 21,280 680 3.1%
COLUSA 11,550 10,710 840 7.2%
CONTRA COSTA 554,700 537,200 17,500 3.2%
DEL NORTE 9,500 9,080 420 4.4%
EL DORADO 92,700 90,100 2,600 2.8%
FRESNO 448,700 422,800 25,900 5.8%
GLENN 12,730 12,150 590 4.6%
HUMBOLDT 61,000 58,900 2,000 3.3%
IMPERIAL 70,700 59,200 11,500 16.2%
INYO 8,310 8,070 240 2.9%
KERN 391,600 367,100 24,500 6.3%
KINGS 56,100 52,700 3,400 6.1%
LAKE 28,710 27,420 1,280 4.5%
LASSEN 9,790 9,480 310 3.2%
LOS ANGELES 4,899,800 4,681,200 218,600 4.5%
MADERA 61,700 58,300 3,400 5.5%
MARIN 129,300 126,400 2,900 2.2%
MARIPOSA 7,220 6,950 280 3.8%
MENDOCINO 37,940 36,680 1,260 3.3%
MERCED 117,700 110,400 7,300 6.2%
MODOC 3,290 3,170 120 3.6%
MONO 8,340 8,020 320 3.9%
MONTEREY 214,100 204,700 9,300 4.4%
NAPA 70,000 68,100 1,900 2.7%
NEVADA 48,090 46,700 1,390 2.9%
ORANGE 1,604,000 1,559,700 44,300 2.8%
PLACER 192,500 187,500 5,000 2.6%
PLUMAS 7,640 7,280 360 4.8%
RIVERSIDE 1,170,300 1,123,500 46,800 4.0%
SACRAMENTO 723,900 697,400 26,500 3.7%
SAN BENITO 33,300 31,900 1,400 4.1%
SAN BERNARDINO 1,023,500 983,700 39,900 3.9%
SAN DIEGO 1,578,900 1,529,100 49,800 3.2%
SAN FRANCISCO 576,600 564,300 12,400 2.1%
SAN JOAQUIN 336,400 319,600 16,800 5.0%
SAN LUIS OBISPO 136,300 132,900 3,400 2.5%
SAN MATEO 456,400 447,300 9,000 2.0%
SANTA BARBARA 227,000 220,800 6,300 2.8%
SANTA CLARA 1,060,000 1,037,100 22,900 2.2%
SANTA CRUZ 136,700 131,800 5,000 3.6%
SHASTA 74,600 71,700 2,900 3.9%
SIERRA 1,390 1,360 40 2.7%
SISKIYOU 16,780 16,040 740 4.4%
SOLANO 201,500 193,700 7,900 3.9%
SONOMA 249,800 243,300 6,500 2.6%
STANISLAUS 239,000 227,200 11,800 5.0%
SUTTER 45,500 42,900 2,500 5.6%
TEHAMA 26,290 25,220 1,070 4.1%
TRINITY 4,510 4,340 170 3.7%
TULARE 203,500 187,400 16,000 7.9%
TUOLUMNE 19,810 19,040 770 3.9%
VENTURA 414,000 400,100 13,800 3.3%
YOLO 108,500 105,000 3,500 3.3%
YUBA 30,800 29,200 1,600 5.0%