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As discussed in our preliminary report on the October data, the state’s recovery progress continued to be mixed. Nonfarm jobs finally reached a recovery point—defined by the pre-pandemic peak in February 2020—for nonfarm jobs, but also posted the third month in a row with a contraction in the number of employed. In all, California took 32 months to reach the jobs recovery benchmark.
Other states by giving a higher priority to rapid jobs recovery reached this point far earlier. For example, Texas passed this point in November 2021; Florida did so in October 2021. In all, the most recent data shows that the number of states exceeding the pre-pandemic job numbers rose to 25, while the number of states exceeding this recovery measure for employment dipped to 26.
The jobs recovery in California also varies across industries and wage level. Using the unadjusted numbers to show results by average wage level, recovery and now growth continues to be the strongest in the higher wage industries. The medium wage industries continue to track overall nonfarm trends. The lower wage industries, in contrast, still have yet to reach this recovery benchmark.
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