May 1, 2026
Beacon Employment Report | California
Presented by Beacon Economics
Copyright © Beacon Economics LLC
REGIONAL OVERVIEW
Regionally, job gains were led by Southern California. Los Angeles (MD) saw the largest increase, where payrolls grew by 10,900 during the month, a 0.2% expansion. San Diego (5,900 or 0.4%), the Inland Empire (4,600 or 0.3%), Orange County (3,900 or 0.2%), and El Centro (100 or 0.2%) also grew during the month. On the other hand, payrolls fell in Ventura (-500 or -0.2%). Over the past year, the San Diego (0.9%) has enjoyed the fastest job growth in the region, followed by El Centro (0.7%), the Inland Empire (0.6%), Los Angeles (MD) (0.5%), Orange County (-0.2%), and Ventura (-0.6%).
In the Bay Area, Santa Rosa (700 or 0.3%) and Vallejo (700 or 0.5%) experienced the largest increase during the month. San Rafael (MD) (400 or 0.4%) and Napa (200 or 0.3%) also saw their payrolls increase. In contrast, payrolls fell in San Francisco (MD) (-2,800 or -0.2%), the East Bay (-2,400 or -0.2%), and San Jose (-300). Over the past 12 months, Napa (1.6%) and San Jose (1.6%) have experienced the fastest job growth in the region, followed by Santa Rosa (1.12%), San Rafael (MD) (0.8%), San Francisco (MD) (0.5%), Vallejo (0.4%), and the East Bay (unchanged).
In the Central Valley, Bakersfield (700 or 0.2%) saw the largest monthly increase in March. Payrolls also grew in Modesto (500 or 0.2%), Chico (300 or 0.4%), and Fresno (300 or 0.1%). On the other hand, payrolls fell in Stockton (-600 or -0.2%), Sacramento (-200), Visalia (-100 or -0.1%), and Hanford (-100 or -0.2%). Payrolls were unchanged in Merced, Redding, and Yuba. Over the past year, Merced (3.2%) has enjoyed the fastest growth, followed by Redding (2.9%), Yuba (2.5%), Stockton (1.6%), Fresno (1.5%), Bakersfield (1.1%), Modesto (1.1%), Sacramento (0.6%), Visalia (0.3%), Chico (0.1%), and Hanford (-0.5%).
On California’s Central Coast, Salinas (600 or 0.4%%) added the largest number of jobs during the month. Payrolls fell in Santa Cruz (-200 or -0.2%) and Santa Barbara (-100 or -0.1%) and were unchanged in San Luis Obispo. From March 2025 to March 2026, Salinas (2.4%) added jobs at the fastest rate, followed by Santa Cruz (10.7%), Santa Barbara (0.6%), and San Luis Obispo (-2.4%).
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