California’s pandemic jobs picture is gloomy, even when you ponder its bright spots.
My trusty spreadsheet, filled with state employment data, could find few rays of hope since the coronavirus throttled the economy starting in late winter. Only a handful of private-sector employment categories added any meaningful jobs in the six months ended in August. That’s to be expected when 1.7 million jobs, or 10% of employment, were wiped out in a half-year by lockdown orders and related economic turmoil.
Even so, most of these growth businesses were off their hiring pace, adding fewer jobs than in their three-year average from February through August.
Let’s start on the farm, a highly seasonal workplace not always discussed because typical employment analysis involves the less-volatile count of “non-farm” workers.
California’s agricultural bosses added 21,700 workers from February to August — or a 6% gain — to 382,500 jobs. This hiring pace pales the typical prime planting and harvesting seasons. Farm businesses added an average 123,700 workers in the same period in the previous three years. Clearly, the pandemic has chilled agriculture.
So, it comes as no surprise that food manufacturing — the folks who cook for mass consumption — hired modestly. Only 6,700 workers were added statewide in the six months — a 4% increase to 162,100 jobs. Yet this job growth is less than half of the 14,567 average seen in the previous three years.
Spring and summer are usually good times for construction, too. And certain building niches have been able to grow, but again, not like what has been previously seen.
The business of constructing buildings added 8,100 workers — 4% growth to 206,800 workers — but below the 13,000 hires seen in the same period in the previous three years. Highway construction also grew: Up 3,900 — or 16% — to 28,500 workers but down from the 5,633 average.
Construction faces several challenges. Some parts of the state had social-distancing limits on trade work. Plus, overall economic uncertainties nudged some developers to take a wait-and-see approach to start their projects. So construction hiring isn’t booming despite a rebounding homebuying market.
Now, do-it-yourselfers and remodelers have been busy at home since the pandemic started. Homeowners are fixing up residences to better adapt to work-from-home issues or home-schooling needs. Those projects have been a huge boost to building-supply stores.
These merchants have added 8,600 workers in six months — or 7% to 127,100. That’s nearly triple the 3,000 hired in this often-brisk period for such stores during the previous three years.
Yes, shopping has certainly changed during the pandemic.
Let’s look at grocery stores, the ultimate “essential” service. As the pandemic turned lives upside-down, cooking at home became the norm. So grocers added 10,400 jobs since February to meet the sales rush — or 3% growth to 322,900 workers. Before 2020, this was a stagnant business with minimal job growth.
Meanwhile, the hot merchants stayed hot: the so-called “nonstore” retailers. Online sellers added 3,100 jobs — or 5% to 66,500 workers, doubling the new 1,367 workers they averaged in 2017-19. Those stay-at-home requirements provided an obvious boost to these companies.
That success meant somebody had to deliver all the stuff we ordered. So, is it any surprise that 10,700 couriers and messengers have been hired since February? That’s a 10% boost to 114,600 workers — or seven times the previous hiring pace.
All those clicks to buy, not to mention online work from home and remote learning, required more information services.
California’s data processing and hosting firms added 2,300 workers since February — a 4% bump to 57,400 workers. But please note this expansion is down from a 3,033 average in what was is typically a fairly slow, post-holiday season.
The niche that job trackers dub “other information services” — all those gee-whiz apps we use including Facebook, Google, Yelp etc. — added 7,500 jobs in six months, up 6% to 135,900 workers. That hiring, too, is below the 2017-19 average of 10,533.
Oh, and somehow amid all the economic chaos, the stock market soared. That was good news for the state’s investment workers. These bosses added 3,400 workers — or 3% to 102,700. That hiring topped the 2,500 hiring pace of 2017-19.
Source: Orange County Register
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