California employers added 41,200 net jobs in October, a significant increase from more sluggish growth reported a month earlier, according to federal data.
The state unemployment rate in October fell to 5.8%, down from 5.9% in September and the lowest since October 2007.
October’s job gains are more in line with the state’s average job gains of about 38,000 each month over the last year. September’s numbers initially showed a gain of just 8,200 jobs, sparking concern that the state’s economic expansion could be slowing.
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But data released Friday also revised September’s job gains upward: The data now show the state posted a gain of 21,100 jobs.
Esmael Adibi, an economist at Chapman University, said the month-to-month numbers have fluctuated pretty widely throughout the year, with some months showing huge gains and others smaller ones. The revisions to September’s numbers are significant, he said, and are a sign that the state’s pace of job creation has remained healthy.
“California is doing much stronger than the U.S.,” he said. “It’s a strong report. It’s very broad-based job creation, with the exception of manufacturing.”
Manufacturing in particular has seen a slowdown as the economies of major trading partners such as Canada and Europe have begun to slow. Slowing in the energy sector has also led to cutbacks for manufacturers that supply equipment used in oil and gas exploration, Adibi said.
October’s faster job growth for California mirrors that of the U.S., which posted a healthy gain of 271,000 jobs last month — much more than in September.
California has added jobs at a rate of 2.9% over the last year, faster than the 2% growth rate for the U.S. overall.
The fastest gains over the last year have come in the construction industry, which posted a 7.3% gain since last October, and professional and business services, up 5.3%.
Since the Great Recession sent California’s unemployment above 12% in 2010 — higher than every state except Michigan and Nevada — the state’s economic rebound has been swift. For the last three years, California has added jobs at a rate faster than all but five other states.
The unemployment rate in Los Angeles County fell to 6.1% in October, down from 6.5% in September and significantly down from 8% a year ago.
L.A. County posted job growth of 2% over the last year — among the slowest of all major metro areas in the state. Job growth in L.A. County is typically not as swift as other areas because it has an enormous job base — more than 4.3 million nonfarm payroll employees as of last month.
The fastest job growth in the state came in the San Jose metro area, which posted a 5.2% increase over the last year.
In Southern California, the fastest growth came in the Inland Empire, where employment increased 3.2% since last October, followed by the San Diego area (2.9%), Orange County (2.7%) and Ventura County (2.2%).
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