CA gained 76% fewer jobs in 2024 than estimated, grew just 0.3%

(The Center Square) — Updated federal data shows California gained 76% fewer jobs in 2024 than initially estimated, gaining only 60,000 jobs, instead of the earlier announced 250,000 jobs.

A 2024 state-funded report found that California private sector employment went into a downturn in 2022, with jobs growth only coming from the public sector and related employment. If this trend has continued, the state’s 0.3% jobs growth could have entirely come from taxpayer-financed government and government-adjacent hiring.

“The corrected data show that the state added just 60,000 jobs between September 2023 and September 2024. The monthly jobs report, which the administration and the Legislature relied on to gauge the economy during that period, showed the labor market growing steadily, appearing to add more than 250,000 jobs over that period,” wrote the state-funded Legislative Analyst’s Office. “Actual job growth for the year was 0.3 percent, compared to the 1.5 percent growth initially reported via the preliminary survey.”

The state-funded Legislative Analyst’s Office reported that between September 2022 and April 2024, the private sector lost 154,000 jobs, while the public and publicly-supported sector, which includes the healthcare sector — which is majority-funded by taxes via Medicare, Medicaid, and Affordable Care Act premium subsidies — gained 361,000 jobs.

The governor has proposed withdrawing $7 billion from reserves this year, while increasing spending to $322 billion. Amid stock market volatility and uncertainty about federal funding, it’s unclear how much the state may have to cut from its projected revenue.