California’s Job Growth in August Triples National Rate

SAN FRANCISCO:
In August, California, the most populous state in the US, added jobs at three times the rate of the country, and business insiders contributed the result to the state’s more strict public health measures amid the nation-wide Covid-19 resurgence.

According to the employment data for August 2021 released by the California Employment Development Department (EDD), the Golden State’s unemployment rate decreased to 7.5 per cent in August as the state’s employers gained 104,300 non-farm payroll jobs, reports Xinhua news agency.

California’s gain of non-farm jobs last month accounted for 44 per cent of the nation’s 235,000 overall jobs gain during the same period, the latest report of EDD showed, highlighting the state’s monthly job growth tripled the national pace.

As of August, California had recovered 62 per cent of the 2.7 million jobs it lost in March and April 2020, when the pandemic started, the report said, adding the sector of professional and business services performed well as its professional, scientific and technical services sub-sector had regained all jobs it had lost.

Taner Osman, research manager at Los Angeles consultancy Beacon Economics, was quoted by the Los Angeles Times as saying on Saturday that since in August “two major head winds for the state’s economy”, including the declining spread of Covid-19 cases and the reopening of schools, had eased, the state’s job growth could continue.

“This paves the way for strong job gains through the end of this year,” he said.

Michael Mahdesian, chairman of a local company that cleans hospitals, aerospace factories and office buildings throughout Southern California, also told the Los Angeles Times that since California was better off than other states in getting people vaccinated, the state had avoided of big messes in Texas and Florida last month.

As of this week, two-thirds of people in California are at least partially vaccinated against Covid-19.

The state is the only one in the nation that coronavirus transmission rate dropped from red to orange level.