April 17 2026
Beacon Employment Report | California
Presented by Beacon Economics
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Beacon Economics publishes a variety of online reports that analyze and forecast the U.S., California, and California regional economies. These publications provide users with the latest data, and with substantive commentary on the overall direction of the economy, employment and unemployment, international trade, real estate markets, consumer and business spending, and much more. The reports represent only a sampling of the kind of analysis Beacon Economics produces.
California Employment and Labor Force Declines In Latest Numbers
Kaiser Strike Temporarily Affecting Numbers; Unemployment Rate Holds Steady
19,900
Monthly Job Loss
California’s nonfarm employment fell in February, with the total number of payroll jobs in the state dropping to a seasonally adjusted 18,124,400, a decrease of 19,900 positions over the month. However, a major strike at Kaiser Permanente, which has since been settled, weighed on February’s figures.
Notably, January’s jobs gains were also revised from a 93,500 increase to an 81,800 increase in the latest numbers, a loss of 11,700 from the preliminary estimate.
5.4%
Unemployment Rate
Annually, payrolls in California decreased by 0.7% from February 2025 to February 2026, compared to a 0.1% increase in the nation as a whole over the same period. Despite significant loses this month, California’s labor market continues to be supported primarily by locally serving industries such as Health Care and Leisure and Hospitality, but overall growth continues to trail the nation. Without the state’s sizeable gains in Health Care, employment levels would be down 9,100 over the last year, a 0.1% decline.
California’s unemployment rate stayed put at 5.4% in February 2026, unchanged from January and the highest in the nation behind Washington D.C.. Although high, the state’s unemployment rate has remained steady over the last year while the nation’s rate ticked up 0.2 percentage-points.
35,100
Labor Supply Decline
California’s labor supply fell by 35,100 in February. Over the past year, the state’s labor force has grown by just 49,800 workers, a 0.3% increase. Labor supply in the nation overall went largely unchanged over this period. California’s chronic housing shortage continues to constrain 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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