SACRAMENTO-The California labor market added 10,400 new nonfarm jobs in April. These new positions represent a 0.1% increase over March employment levels, according to Beacon Economics.

The Los Angeles-based firm points out that while April's pace of growth is substantially slower than gains experienced in March, “it does not come as a surprise given the sustained slow growth we've seen across the nation.” Although payroll numbers may have been weaker in April, the EDD household survey showed that the unemployment rate dropped four-tenths of one percent to 9%, the firm says.

The bulk of the drop in unemployment can be attributed to 71,000 people moving from unemployed to employed, says the firm. “These numbers should be taken with a grain of salt, however. Large divergences between the payroll and household surveys frequently lead to revisions in coming months. One thing that appears clear is that household employment in California has grown faster than the nation overall since 2003.”

The Construction industry led California's job gains in April, adding 7,400 payroll positions for a 1.2% monthly increase, says Beacon Economics. “The recovery of the state's housing market has spurred demand for new residential units given the low level of available supply. We expect this industry to remain strong in the months ahead.”

California isn't the only place reporting positive job growth. As GlobeSt.com recently reported, the Labor Department reported that the US economy added 165,000 jobs and the unemployment rate fell to 7.5%. It was a better report than many had forecast, with projections of 145,000 jobs added widely circulated. The various industries scrambled to make sense of the numbers, at least in terms of their particular sector. The International Council of Shopping Centers, for example, noted that US shopping-center retail jobs rose by 33,000 — accounting for one-fifth of all the 165,000 jobs added in April. It also reported that another 38,000 people were hired by restaurants and bars, for a total that was slightly higher in this category than the Labor Department's. No matter—it is clear retail is helping to drive the US economic bus. "The shopping center industry is a crucial driver of the economic recovery," said ICSC President and CEO Michael P. Kercheval, in a prepared statement. “These numbers illustrate that retail and retail development is a major economic pillar.”

**Other key findings from the Beacon Economics report include:

*Except for Government and Professional and Business Services employment, all industries posted modest gains for the month. Because this survey-based data is volatile, it is not surprising to see Professional and Business Services employment down given the strong showing in the last few months. In April, Professional and Business employment contracted by 6,000 positions. Government employment shed another 1,400 positions in April.

*April's employment gains were fairly widespread throughout the state with most regions seeing positive growth. Los Angeles County saw the largest gains on an absolute basis, adding 8,000 new jobs, while smaller areas like Napa (+0.8%), Merced (+0.7%), and Madera (+0.6%) saw the largest percentage gains. The largest job losses were in the San Jose area. However given that most of the job losses this month were in the Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services industry, “it is not surprising that losses would be concentrated in tech heavy Silicon Valley.”

Instant Insights /

Construction Industry Leads CA's Job Gains

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