California employers added 101,800 nonfarm payroll jobs in April, almost 40% of the U.S. employment growth but down from March’s upwards-revised gain of 132,400 jobs, according to the state Employment Development Department (EDD).
The April jobless rate in the Golden State was 8.3%, compared with the national rate of 6.1%. California has gained back 1.3 million of total nonfarm jobs, or 48%, of the 2.7 million employment losses during March and April of 2020 when Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom mandated a shelter in place order to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus pandemic 2020.
In April, seven of California’s 11 industry sectors added payroll jobs. Leisure and hospitality led the way with 62,800 new hires. There are 1.49 million leisure and hospitality workers employed in the Golden State, according to EDD data.
The second-fastest growing employment sector, professional and business services, added 19,000 jobs in April versus March’s gain of 22,000 jobs. Professional and business services accounted for 2,66 million jobs, according to numbers from the EDD.
Agricultural employment lost 8,000 jobs between March and April 2021. The agriculture industry employed 44,700 fewer workers in April 2021 versus April 2020.
In April’s sample week, 579,498 people certified for Unemployment Insurance benefits versus 680,279 Californians in March’s comparable seven-day period. EDD continued to have problems with timely processing of UI filings.
“As of Thursday, 198,605 claims are still facing delays within California’s EDD and as of May 8, more than 1.9 million claims are still unprocessed,” according to KCRA 3 News. Some UI claims have exceeded 21 days to be resolved. Other UI claims are waiting for certification, step one in the process to receive payment.
This article was originally posted on California payrolls add 101,800 jobs; unemployment rate stays at 8.3%
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