HealthyCal.org

California unemployment dropped a tick in May to 12.4 percent from a revised 12.5 percent in April, even as thousands of people entered the workforce. But most of the new jobs created in the state the past two months have come from one source: the federal government’s census. Private sector employment is stagnant, and construction, trade, transportation, finance, education and health care all reported job losses in May.

See the full report here from the Employment Development Department.

Meanwhile, our friend Steve Levy from the Center for the Continuing Study of the California Economy provides more detail on the job growth and losses, and a comparison between the payroll survey and the household survey, which includes the self-employed and new businesses. Here is Levy’s monthly memo on the jobs picture:

Today EDD reported a gain of 53,700 jobs in April and May of which 48,100 were from federal government Census activities and only 5,600 were in the private sector. Private sector job growth remains especially disappointing given the steady gains in production reported in the economy.

The state matches the national picture of expanding production and trade with very little private sector job growth. Construction employment and state and local government jobs continue to decline and are acting as a constraint to growth in California with little hope of a quick turnaround in these sectors.

The household survey, which is used to report unemployment statistics paints a brighter picture.

The state’s unemployment rate declined slightly in May to 12.4%, down from the record high of 12.6%. And these gains were achieved even as 94,000 residents rejoined the workforce in the past two months. The household survey, which includes self employment jobs, shows a gain of 123,000 jobs in April and May compared to the 53,700 reported in the payroll survey.

In past recoveries the household survey has reported a job turnaround before the payroll survey which does not include either self employed workers or new businesses.

The best news remains outside of the monthly jobs reports. Trade and tourism are rising in California. Film production turned up in the first quarter of 2010. The Bay Area is seeing a number of new firms in technology and alternative energy as well as the announcement by Tesla and Toyota to produce electric cars in Fremont.

However, much of this job creation is in the future, not now. The state and country remains in a period where private sector firms are reluctant to hire workers even as sales rise.

California lost nearly a million jobs last year, a third more than previously believed, according to revised numbers released Friday by the Employment Development Department. For the year, employment was down by 902,000, the latest numbers show. In December alone, the state had about 340,000 fewer jobs than earlier estimates suggested.

Steve Levy, director of the Center for the Continuing Study of the California Economy, said that the national jobs report for February gives him hope that the job losses have ended and the employment market has bottomed out. In California, estimates showed a gain of 32,500 jobs in January

Levy said future job growth could be supported by strong economic growth in Asia, rising port, airport and tourism activity in California and infrastructure work from the federal stimulus program.

“The bottom line is that we are very near to a recovery that will be felt by residents but also that we are starting from a deeper hole in terms of past job losses,” Levy said.

More info:

For the full EDD report, go here.

California released its employment report for December today, and the news was not good. The state lost a net of 38,800 more jobs at a time when some economists and state officials had hoped the economy and unemployment had bottomed out. Christopher Thornberg and Jon Haveman at Beacon Economics provide a monthly analysis of the employment report that I’ve always found helpful. Here is their synopsis:

* Job Losses Grow Again: California lost 38,800 jobs in December, the largest employment decline of any state in the nation. This follows several months of more positive employment numbers. Because job losses were widespread, this is not an auspicious sign for recovery in the Golden States.
* Lackluster Holiday Buying Big Contributor To Job Losses: The sector that includes retail trade saw job losses rise for the fourth month in a row – driven by a sluggish holiday season that has forced retailers to cut labor costs. Retail trade alone lost 8,100 positions. The larger sector it falls under, Trade Transportaion and Utilities, is down 15,300 positions, the largest month-over industry reduction in the state.
* California Unemployment Rate Reflects Labor Force Dropouts: The state’s unemployment rate has once again remained unchanged – marking the third month of relative stability. Unfortunately, the numbers reflect the fact that roughly 106,000 people have dropped out of the labor force and are no longer being counted among the unemployed.
* Los Angeles, San Francisco Unemployment Inches Upwards: Like the state as a whole, unemployment rates in most of California’s regions remained unchanged (or fell very slightly) in December. Notable exceptions were San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Jose, and Ventura, where the unemployment rate inched upwards by between 0.1 and 0.2 percentage points.
* Precious Few Areas Add Jobs: Santa Cruz, Chico, Redding, Bakersfield, and El Centro have the honor of being the only areas of the state to have added jobs in December. However, the total combined number of jobs added was only 2,000. The indication is that the recovery, and job growth, in coming months is going to be s-l-o-w.

Go here to see the full report.