Department of Numbers

California Job Growth

There were 14,199,000 jobs in California in December 2011 according to the CES survey of employers. The CPS survey of households showed 16,197,633 employed persons for the month. California added 10,700 jobs in December 2011 according to the CES survey while the broader CPS employment measure rose by 73,035 (Comparing CES and CPS employment numbers.). Also available is California job growth compared to other states.

Employment Survey December 2011 Month/Month Year/Year
CES 14,199,000 +10,700 +263,200
CPS 16,197,633 +73,035 +319,348

California Employment Changes

The charts below shows the monthly job growth for California as measured by the CES and CPS surveys. To illustrate the trend, the 3 month moving average change in employment is shown in green.

CES Employment Change: 1 Month, Rolling 3 Month

CPS Employment Change: 1 Month, Rolling 3 Month

Total Employment in California

CES employment peaked in July 2007 for California at 15,214,200. Since then 1,015,200 jobs have been lost in California according to the employer survey. From a trough of 13,847,800 in September 2010, California has gained 351,200 jobs according to CES employment figures.

CPS employment in California reached a maximum of 17,023,322 in January 2008. 825,689 jobs have been lost in California since then according to the household survey. From a August 2011 low of 15,830,729, California has added 366,904 jobs according to the CPS survey.

Employment: CES, CPS

CES and CPS employment chart through December 2011

California Employment History

Date CES
Employment
CES
Month/Month
CPS
Employment
CPS
Month/Month
December 2011 14,199,000 10,700 16,197,633 73,035
November 2011 14,188,300 24,700 16,124,598 116,569
October 2011 14,163,600 37,700 16,008,029 91,731
September 2011 14,125,900 39,200 15,916,298 85,569
August 2011 14,086,700 21,100 15,830,729 -16,836
July 2011 14,065,600 -4,600 15,847,565 -62,439
June 2011 14,070,200 30,400 15,910,004 -37,347
May 2011 14,039,800 -21,100 15,947,351 8,565
April 2011 14,060,900 14,900 15,938,786 36,481
March 2011 14,046,000 -14,900 15,902,305 -13,897
February 2011 14,060,900 101,500 15,916,202 11,599
January 2011 13,959,400 23,600 15,904,603 26,318
December 2010 13,935,800 16,700 15,878,285 509