California’s unemployment rate rose slightly in March from the previous month, according to recent statistics released. The state’s unemployment rate last month was up 6.4 percent, which was 0.1 percent higher than in April. That being said, the unemployment rate was considerably lower than this time last year when the rate was at 7.6 percent.
However, the unemployment rate in California is still higher than the national average. The average US unemployment rate is 5.5 percent. This figure is computed based on a survey given to households that determine how many people in each home are unemployed across the state.
The move to California to try to lower its unemployment rate is evident by the recent addition of 54,200 jobs in the state. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the construction industry has been seeing the fastest increases in the number of jobs added over the past year. Its rate was 6.9 percent. Second fastest was business and professional services at 5.1 percent, and that was followed by jobs devoted to the leisure and hospitality sectors (3.8 percent).
2015 is the fourth year that California has increased its number of jobs. The rate at which the state has added jobs has been 3 percent. That rate is quicker than the rest of the US, which averages about 2.2 percent.
What are the slowest growing industries for jobs in California? Currently those industries are financial services, at one percent, and manufacturing, at a job-growth rate of only 0.4 percent.
The total number of jobs added in May by California, which is 54,000 jobs, is more than the state’s average gain per month over the last year. The state was previously adding about 38,000 jobs per month. California employers are adding jobs and it will be interesting to note what information is collected next month by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.