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Recent labor stats weren’t good. And in reality, they’re much worse, says Labor Department
labor

The month of March was one that brought slight optimism to many regarding the national and local economies. It was the first of just two months thus far in 2024 that didn’t see a rise in unemployment rates and reportedly saw 2.9 million jobs created over the 12 months ending in the month.

But the Bureau of Labor Statistics (a branch of the US Department of Labor) burst that bubble Wednesday when they released new data that suggested there were 818,000 fewer jobs created than were initially reported.

That means roughly 2.1 million jobs were instead created in the U.S. in the past year. The statistics do not represent job losses.

In March, the United States had a 3.9% unemployment rate, translating to approximately  6,429,000 individuals without work. Considering  the new, corrected data, the average monthly job gain from April 2023 through March 2024 was 173,500 versus nearly 242,000 initially reported.

And more corrections could come. The revisions released Wednesday were only preliminary. Finalized statistics won’t be released until February. 

As far as California is concerned, the statewide unemployment rate was 5.3% in March, or about 1,032,000 people. That figure remained consistent until July, where the unemployment rate spiked to 5.8%, or 1,124,300 members of the labor force without work.

July marked the fourth straight month in which the national unemployment rate increased, rising to 4.3%, translating to roughly 7.2 million individuals without work. Meanwhile, employers added just 114,000 jobs in July.

According to preliminary data provided by the State of California Employment Development Department, there were about 231,400 individuals employed in Stanislaus County in July, an increase of 2,400 from June. But a simultaneous increase of 4,500 members of the labor force (250,000) paired with 1,200 people losing jobs caused the unemployment rate to rise from 5.3% to 5.8%.

Merced County’s labor market painted a similar picture, the EDD shared. Around 2,400 more people were employed in July, but the unemployment rate rose by a whole percentage point from 8.6% to 9.6% in July, translating to about 11,900 individuals without work as the labor force rose to 124,300 (an increase of 3,100 people) and the 400 people became unemployed. 

Those on the hunt for a job can find resources at www.edd.ca.gov/en/jobs.