State And Mother Lode Jobless Rates Unchanged

Sacramento, CA – The state and the Mother Lode unemployment rate remained unchanged for November.

According to the latest Employment Development Department (EDD) data released today. California gained 11,100 nonfarm payroll jobs last month, and the unemployment rate stayed at 5.4 percent. Of note, a revision of October’s job numbers that initially showed a loss of 5,500 jobs was amended after receiving more responses after the survey collection week found a gain of 9,100 jobs for that month.

The Mother Lode rate also held, with Tuolumne County staying at 5.2 percent for two consecutive months and Calaveras County at 4.5 percent since September.

Five of the 11 industry sectors gained jobs last month. Leading the charge was private education and health services, adding 13,100 jobs, followed by trade, transportation, and utilities, with 5,700 jobs. According to the EDD, this is the ninth consecutive month this industry has reported job increases. Most of those were in retail and couriers and messengers, as holiday hiring ramped up and activity increased at California ports.

The largest job losses were in financial activities at 4,400. Other or more service-oriented jobs, like hairdressers, came in second with 3,300 jobs lost.

The nation’s unemployment rate rose by one-tenth of a percent to 4.2 percent in November from 4.1 percent in October.