After monthly job gains that averaged nearly 25-thousand all last year, California’s labor market growth appears to be slowing down. Capital Public Radio’s Ben Adler looks at new data out Friday.
California added just under 15-thousand jobs in February … after roughly 6-thousand in January.
The unemployment rate last month remained unchanged — at 4-point-2 percent. It did so even though nearly 25-thousand Californians entered the labor force — that is, they started looking for work.
That does suggest the state was able to absorb the increase without the unemployment rate going up.
There continues to be a wide range in jobless rates among California’s 58 counties. Colusa has the highest unemployment: a whopping 20 percent. On the other end are several Bay Area counties — Marin, San Francisco, San Mateo and Santa Clara — all around 2-point-5 percent.
