California's Employment Development Department and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) recently released California's October 2018 state jobs report. Statewide nonfarm employment grew by an estimated 36,400 in October. This is a large increase over the September estimate of 10,500, but this series has considerable month-to-month measurement error. (The combined September and October estimates are in line with the average growth rate over the past 12 months.) The state's official unemployment rate remained at 4.1 percent, the lowest recorded rate since the series was first established in 1976. The figure below summarizes nonfarm employment by sector based on the monthly survey of employers. Overall employment in the state has grown 1.8 percent over the past 12 months, very close to the nation’s 1.7 percent growth rate.
