December 12, 2025
Beacon Employment Report | California
Presented by Beacon Economics
Copyright © Beacon Economics LLC
Due to the Federal government shutdown, the Beacon Employment Report has been updated with September data only. The EDD has tentatively scheduled October and November data to release on January 7. Beacon Economics will update this report as soon as the latest data becomes available.
September Numbers Show Job Losses
August Numbers Revised From Gain To Loss; Tariffs May Be Starting To Impact Employment
4,500
Monthly Job Loss
After months of delay due to the federal government shutdown, the California EDD, which relies on the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics to produce employment estimates, released job numbers for September today.
California’s nonfarm payroll jobs decreased in September, with total nonfarm employment in the state falling to a seasonally adjusted 17,992,600, a decline of 4,500 positions over the month.
August’s jobs numbers were also revised down to a 10,300 decline in the latest, a 14,100 decrease from the preliminary estimate, which indicated a 3,800 increase.
“It’s reasonable to suspect that recent tariffs are beginning to have an impact on employment,” said Justin Niakamal, Research Manager at Beacon Economics. “Goods-producing sectors have fewer jobs now than they did last year, and that’s true for both California and the nation as a whole.”
5.6%
Unemployment Rate
Overall, California’s labor market continues to be supported mostly by locally serving industries such as Health Care, Government, Education, and Leisure and Hospitality, however growth continues to trail the nation. California increased payrolls by 0.3% from September 2024 to September 2025, trailing an 0.8% increase nationally over the same period.
While growth remains positive in the state, employment levels are down 91,700 over the past year, a 0.6% decline, when excluding gains in Health Care.
California’s unemployment rate ticked up to 5.6% in September 2025, a 0.1 percentage-point increase over August. At 5.6% the state’s unemployment rate is the second highest in the nation, behind only Washington D.C.
4,800
Monthly Labor Supply Growth
California’s labor supply is growing slowly and expanded by just 4,800 in September. Since February 2020, the state’s labor force has expanded by just 234,300 workers, a 1.2% increase. This trails a 4.1% increase nationally over the same period.
The recent ICE raids do not appear to be having a significant impact on California’s labor force, however the states chronic housing shortage continues to limit its ability to grow.
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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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