California’s Jobless Rate Steady, Mother Lode’s Climbs Slightly

EDD chart for March 2023

Sonora, CA — California’s unemployment rate stayed constant in March while the Mother Lode saw a minimal increase.

The state’s rate held steady at 4.4 percent last month as 8,700 nonfarm payroll jobs were added to the economy, according to data released on Friday by the California Employment Development Department (EDD) from two surveys. It also showed California has gained 3,049,800 jobs since the current economic expansion began in April 2020, which equals a monthly average of 84,717 jobs gained.

The Mother Lode’s unemployment went up slightly from 5.5 percent in February to 5.6 percent last month. The figures also climbed in Calaveras from 4.3 percent to 4.6 percent, respectively.

Out of California’s 11 industry sectors, six gained jobs with private education and health services leading the way with 7,000. Local government jobs came in second with 6,900 added. The specialty trade contractors and construction of buildings subsectors suffered the largest reduction at 8,200.

The national jobless rate dipped from 3.6 in February to 3.5 percent last month.