Stats on California Labor Markets

In February, California' s labor market bounced back adding 39,400 new nonfarm jobs. The state's unemployment rate dipped to 5.5% lowest in 9 years. The biggest gains were in, Tourism, healthcare, information, and construction. Six sectors lost jobs last month- retail, professional/technical/scientific, logistics and finance.

So Cal has the top prize in February as Los Angeles, San Diego, Ventura and Orange County ranked 1st- 4th place for new job creations. The more affordable portions of the Bay area were Stockton, Oakland, Solano and Santa Rosa Counties coming in 4th-8th.

The jog growth trends show us the importance of housing to our overall economy. As affordability continued to dwindle, more and more Californians are looking for affordable housing in more affordable neighborhoods. The Bay area has workers commuting in from other parts of the region. These new residents who have moved to due to the lack of local affordability can eventually become the catalyst for more growth in some of these affordable areas and this suggests that some of the areas are making the most of this new trend.

*All figures cited from the California Association of Realtors and Pacific West Association of Realtors