California Candidates Ignore 5.1% Jobless Rate as State Tops U-6 Underemployment at 10.3%
Updated
Updated · CalMatters · Sep 4
California Candidates Ignore 5.1% Jobless Rate as State Tops U-6 Underemployment at 10.3%
3 articles · Updated · CalMatters · Sep 4
Summary
Two months before California’s elections, candidates for governor and other offices have largely avoided the state’s weak jobs picture despite a 5.1% unemployment rate in July, second-highest in the nation.
286,300 workers left California’s labor force over the past year, masking deeper weakness as technology and film jobs keep shrinking and healthcare remains the only sector posting strong gains.
10.3% was California’s U-6 underemployment rate in June—the highest of any state—while Los Angeles County hit 12.1%, showing many residents are stuck in part-time or marginal work.
Ludwig Institute estimates suggest even harsher strain: Redding’s “true unemployment” reached 67.4%, Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim 53.8%, and only a few California regions were below 50%.
The data point to a labor market still distorted by the COVID-era shutdown, with job creation concentrated in government-dependent healthcare rather than higher-value sectors such as tech, film and agriculture.
How are massive tech and film layoffs masking a much deeper crisis of workers quietly vanishing from California's labor force altogether?
With true unemployment hiding in plain sight, why are California candidates completely ignoring the state's shrinking workforce right before the election?
If healthcare is the only industry keeping California's economy afloat, what happens when slowing government spending finally pulls the plug?