As the nation slowly emerges from the shadow of the recession, California has turned from one of the nation’s worst job markets to one of the top job creators, driven by hiring in Silicon Valley, San Diego County and areas along the coast.
Top 10 states for job growth
From October 2010 to October 2011, the following states had the fastest job growth:
N. Dakota 4.86%
Oklahoma 3.05%
Utah 2.62%
Louisiana 2.34%
Texas 2.23%
Nebraska 2.00%
Montana 1.94%
Arizona 1.89%
Wyoming 1.72%
California 1.72%
In sheer numbers, California added 239,000 jobs between October 2010 and October 2011. That’s more than any other state, in line with the state’s population.
Even after ranking the states by the percentage of their job growth instead of sheer numbers, however, California still ranks high. California’s payrolls grew by 1.72 percent over the past year, putting it into a tie with Wyoming for the nation’s ninth-highest hiring rate. In comparison, the nation’s average growth rate was 1.23 percent.
“Considering that employment is a lagging indicator of overall health, it is clear that California is solidly in a new growth phase,” said a report by Beacon Economics last month.
North Dakota ranked on top, with a 4.86 percent jump in payrolls, driven by the discovery of a major new oil field in the western part of the state. Several of the other states in the top 10 were also aided by their ties to the oil and gas industry, including Oklahoma, Louisiana, Texas and Wyoming.
Despite the hiring, California still has the nation’s highest jobless rate: 12.4 percent. But much of the unemployment is tied to the real estate and construction industry, which is still on the decline in the Inland Empire and the Central Valley, particularly around Sacramento.
In California, the fastest growth was seen in professional and business services, up 3.98 percent; the long-beleaguered construction industry, 3.11 percent; education and health services, 2.57 percent; and leisure and hospitality, 2.53 percent. The only broad category to lose workers was financial services, which dropped by 0.03 percent because of the continuing slump for mortgage and real estate brokers.
The hottest growth was in the tech centers along the coast. Silicon Valley grew the fastest at 3.2 percent. San Diego County grew 2 percent; San Francisco, 1.5 percent; and Orange County, 1.8 percent.
“Companies that help consumers and businesses use the Internet and mobile phone technology more efficiently are steadily adding employees,” said Steve
Levy, research director at the Center for the Continuing Study of the California Economy in Palo Alto. “And in recent weeks, (initial stock offerings) for these companies has picked up, with more companies coming to the market.”
courtesy of: http://www.signonsandiego.com, Dean Calbreath
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