Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, California Unemployment
The BLS reported that the unemployment rate for Los Angeles fell 0.3 percentage points in November 2021 to 7.5%. For the same month, the metro unemployment rate was 0.6 percentage points higher than the California rate. The unemployment rate in Los Angeles peaked in May 2020 at 18.1% and is now 10.6 percentage points lower. You can also compare Los Angeles unemployment with unemployment in other cities.
| Unemployment Rate | November 2021 | Month/Month | Year/Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| National | 4.2% | -0.4 | -2.5 |
| California | 6.9% | -0.4 | -1.8 |
| Los Angeles | 7.5% | -0.3 | -3.7 |
Unemployment Rate: Los Angeles, California, National
Note: Recessions shown in gray.
Los Angeles, California Unemployed
The number of people unemployed in Los Angeles peaked in May 2020 at 1,122,449. There are now 627,428 fewer people unemployed in the metropolitan area. Los Angeles employment and jobs data (including jobs lost/gained in Los Angeles, California) is also available.
| Unemployed Persons | November 2021 | Month/Month | Year/Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles | 495,021 | -20,783 | -224,167 |
Number of Unemployed Persons
Los Angeles, California Unemployment History
| Date | National Unemployment Rate |
California Unemployment Rate |
Los Angeles Unemployment Rate |
Los Angeles Unemployed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| December 2021 |
3.9% | — | — | — |
| November 2021 |
4.2% | 6.9% | 7.5% | 495,021 |
| October 2021 |
4.6% | 7.3% | 7.8% | 515,804 |
| September 2021 |
4.7% | 7.5% | 8.1% | 531,382 |
| August 2021 |
5.2% | 7.5% | 9.1% | 601,836 |
| July 2021 |
5.4% | 7.6% | 9.3% | 615,455 |
| June 2021 |
5.9% | 7.6% | 9.4% | 621,114 |
| May 2021 |
5.8% | 7.7% | 9.3% | 614,805 |
| April 2021 |
6.0% | 8.0% | 10.1% | 665,629 |
| March 2021 |
6.0% | 8.3% | 10.0% | 657,159 |
| February 2021 |
6.2% | 8.5% | 9.9% | 656,902 |
| January 2021 |
6.4% | 9.0% | 11.3% | 720,569 |
1. Metro area unemployment rates are now seasonally adjusted. The BLS has started publishing smoothed seasonally adjusted metropolitan area data which makes comparisons to state and national data more relevant than the unadjusted numbers. ↩
Department of Numbers
The Department of Numbers contextualizes public data so that individuals can form independent opinions on everyday social and economic matters.
