California is 2nd toughest place in U.S. to find a job

Californians looking for enactment are battling for paychecks successful the second-most competitory occupation marketplace successful the nation.

The authorities had 1.1 cardinal occupation openings successful August, the largest number successful the nation, according to the archetypal monthly state-by-state Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. But my trusty spreadsheet recovered the evident jobs golden excavation looks meek successful airy of the state’s 1.43 cardinal officially unemployed, besides the highest successful the U.S.

Simply put, determination were 130 California occupation hunters for each 100 openings successful August. Only occupation seekers successful Hawaii faced tougher contention for enactment among the states by this yardstick.

These caller numbers, released Oct. 22, tally antagonistic to each of those “Help Wanted” signs posted everywhere.

How hard is it to find enactment successful California? In each different states successful August, the ratio averaged 80 unemployed for each 100 jobs opportunities, oregon 40% little competition.

Virus volatility

The pandemic’s upheaval of our wellness and system has prompted expansive debates astir what is stymying California’s occupation market.

Why does the authorities inactive person 6% less workers than its pre-virus levels? Why was the unemployment complaint astatine 7.5% successful August, the nation’s second-highest down Nevada?

Now, acknowledgment to this JOLTS data, we tin adhd comparatively meager hiring opportunities to a agelong database of employment challenges that see a mismatch of skills, COVID-19 fears, childcare headaches, unemployment benefits, and definite lingering concern limitations — not to notation a wide rethinking of enactment itself.

California is surely not alone. Seven different states including Connecticut, New York, Illinois, New Jersey, New Mexico, Nevada and aforementioned Hawaii person much occupation seekers than openings. All person unemployment rates supra 7% vs. the nation’s 5.4% for August.

And arsenic you’d expect, states with the astir openings besides had small joblessness.

Imagine looking for enactment successful Nebraska, wherever determination are conscionable 34 occupation seekers for each 100 openings and the nation’s lowest jobless complaint of 2.2%. Or Utah — 36 unemployed per 100 openings and a 2.5% jobless rate. Or Vermont — 42 jobless per 100 opportunities and a 3% jobless rate.

Gosh, pre-virus California had lone 103 jobless for each 100 opportunities — one-fifth little than today.

If those trends don’t depress the enthusiasm for a occupation search, ponder this: California’s unfilled positions successful August equaled 6.2% of each its workers. Only 12 states had a little stock of openings.

But determination is simply a glimmer of hope: August’s occupation openings were up 9% successful California compared with the erstwhile three-month average.

Fresh look

The timing for this JOLTS information could not beryllium better.

Since 2019, the bureau has produced respective peculiar reports connected authorities JOLTS information derived from a monthly survey of 21,000 employers nationwide. The stats connection a importantly antithetic presumption of employment patterns compared with accepted monthly reports connected occupation trends by industry.

Those old-school stats amusement California’s ample leisure and hospitality sectors — slammed by pandemic concern limitations — are inactive 20% beneath pre-coronavirus employment. That sluggish instrumentality presents a important roadblock to the state’s wide jobs recovery.

JOLTS figures springiness america snapshots into each state’s gait of posting, hiring, firing and quitting. Previously, we conscionable saw the “net” alteration — full employment differences betwixt 2 periods. Now we besides tin way the workplace additions (job instauration and idiosyncratic replacement) and subtractions (exits, voluntary oregon not).

This benignant of item is captious due to the fact that the pandemic’s volatile occupation marketplace has produced tons of finger-pointing implicit the system — particularly betwixt concern leaders and politicians. At the aforesaid time, the workplace ups and downs person frustrated employers and occupation seekers alike.

For example, galore California industries that service consumers indoors present are abbreviated of workers, prompting owners to summation wages arsenic incentives oregon minimize the hours they operate.

At a minimum, the JOLTS stats suggest California has a jobs occupation — but it’s not the workers.

Other hints

Other JOLTS stats corroborate determination are galore hurdles for California occupation seekers. Let’s research …

Hires: Bosses added caller unit modestly successful August, bringing 646,000 caller radical connected board. Yes, that’s No. 1 among the states. But it’s 3% beneath the erstwhile twelvemonth and it equals lone 3.9% of each workers. Just 12 states had little hiring shares. Hope grows, however, arsenic California hiring expanded by 3.8% vs. the erstwhile three-month mean — the nation’s 11th fastest pace.

Firings: Bosses aren’t booting galore workers, either. Just 130,000 were laid disconnected oregon discharged successful August. That’s a scant 0.8% of California workers, the 14th smallest stock nationally. And forced exits are down 40% from August 2020, the third-biggest drop. Yet a informing was recovered successful the data: August firings were up 12% compared with the erstwhile three-month mean vs. a 2.4% driblet nationwide.

Quits: Job-hunt challenges trimmed voluntary departures, too, suggesting less-than-confident workers. August’s 408,000 quits were lone 2.5% of each workers, the eight-smallest share. Quits are up 3% vs. the three-month average, but that bump is lone the 39th largest.

Just a reminder: California is inactive a immense employment hub. Its 16.67 cardinal workers successful August was not lone the nation’s largest workforce, its bosses besides added 865,000 much employees statewide successful a twelvemonth — the nation’s No. 1 increase.

Jonathan Lansner is the concern columnist for the Southern California News Group. He tin beryllium reached astatine jlansner@scng.com