January 23, 2026
Beacon Employment Report | California
Presented by Beacon Economics
Copyright © Beacon Economics LLC
California Loses Jobs In Latest Number
November's Gains Revised Down; Unemployment Inches Down Again
1,700
Monthly Job Loss
Total nonfarm employment in California fell to a seasonally adjusted 18,021,200 in December, a decrease of 1,700 positions over the month. November’s jobs gains were also revised down by 2,000, reducing that month’s increase to 30,500.
Longer term, California payrolls fell by 0.1% from December 2024 to December 2025, while the nation as a whole saw a 0.4% increase over the same period. The state’s labor market continues to be supported primarily by locally serving industries such as Health Care, Government, and Leisure and Hospitality, but even growth in those sectors continues to trail the nation. Minus sizeable gains in Health Care, California’s employment levels are down 161,500 over the last year, a 1.1% decline.
5.5%
Unemployment Rate
The state’s unemployment rate fell to 5.5% in December 2025, a 0.1 percentage-point decrease from November. At 5.5% California’s unemployment rate remains among the highest in the nation, however it has remained steady over the last year while the U.S. rate has ticked up 0.3 percentage-points.
29,000
Labor Supply Growth
California’s labor supply is growing slowly and expanded by 29,000 in December. Since February 2020, the state’s labor force has grown by just 307,100 workers, a 1.6% increase. This trails the 4.3% increase nationally over the same period. The state’s chronic housing shortage continues to limit labor supply growth.
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The Beacon Employment Report | California is a unique analysis of California’s employment numbers and trends. Each month, we link our own econometric predictions to data released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and the California Employment Development Department to identify important changes in employment across industries and regions. The Beacon Employment Report is also one of the few analyses that uses seasonally adjusted numbers, which are critical to revealing accurate trends and insights within data. The analysis is a sample of the kind of research available from Beacon Economics.
The contents of this report are based on information derived from carefully selected sources Beacon Economics believe are reasonable. We do not guarantee its accuracy or completeness and nothing presented here shall be construed to be a representation of such a guarantee.
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