California job growth outpacing nation

By Dean Calbreath
Originally published May 19, 2011 at 9:27 a.m.,
updated May 18, 2011 at 3:06 p.m.

California's job growth over the past six months has been more than double the national average, according to a report released Wednesday by the California Budget Project, a group in Sacramento that monitors the state's economy.

Between September 2010 and March 2011, California added 200,000 jobs for a growth rate of 1.5 percent, compared to the national average of 0.6 percent, the report said.

The above-average growth rates were particularly noticeable in professional and business services, hospitals and clinics, private schools and colleges, and hotels and restaurants.

In addition, California gained jobs in construction and information services during that period while the rest of the nation lost jobs in these sectors.

But despite the recent spate of hiring, the state has only regained one-seventh of the 1.4 million jobs lost during the Great Recession. And the report notes that the job recovery has been worse for some groups than others, including reversals of fortune for college graduates, women and older workers and continuing challenges for African-Americans:

Women. The Great Recession hurt men worse than women, partly because the worst effects of the recession were concentrated in traditionally male-dominated industries, like construction. But during the past six months, however, the trend has reversed, with men returning to work at a faster pace than women. Male unemployment has dropped from 13 percent at its peak in September 2010 to 12.7 percent in March 2011. But female unemployment climbed from 11.1 percent to 11.4 percent, partly because of government layoffs, since women hold a disproportionate number of the jobs being affected, particularly in education.

College graduates. When the recession was at its worst, the people who were hit hardest were the people with the least education. Between 2006 and 2009, the percentage of California's high school dropouts who had a job declined by 4.8 percentage points, compared to a 1.8 point decline for workers who had a bachelor's degree or more. But in 2010, the percentage of high school dropouts rose by 0.3 percent, compared to a 2.3 percent decline for college graduates. The report says government layoffs may be to blame, since Californians with a four-year college degree are nearly twice as likely as other workers to work in the public sector.

Older workers. Between 2006 and 2009, the percent of Californian 65-69 year-olds who had jobs rose by 3.2 percentage points, as the first wave of Baby Boomers approached the 65-mark. It was the only age group to have a rise in employment during that period. But last year, the percentage of working 65-69 year olds dropped by 1.1 percent, declining slightly higher than 25-54 year-olds, who constitute the bulk of the state's work force and declined only 0.9 percent. The study suggest that some workers may have left their jobs because they felt more comfortable about being able to afford retirement. But others likely lost their jobs and could not find work.

African-Americans. Even during the best of times, black Californians have higher unemployment than other ethnic groups. When the statewide jobless rate started rising in July 2007, the jobless rate for African-Americans was 9.2 percent, compared to 5.9 percent for Hispanics and 4.9 percent for whites. But in the past year, the rate for African-Americans has risen sharply, from 15 percent in March 2010 to 20 percent in March 2011, while the rate has declined for other groups, dropping from 15 percent to 14.4 percent for Hispanics and 12 percent to 11.7 percent for whites.

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