California Job Market Adds Jobs but Loses Workers in August

California added 39,400 nonfarm payroll jobs in August, but the number of Californians reporting that they were employed fell by 36,600. The state's unemployment rate remained at 5.1%, according to the California Employment Development Department's August employment report.

The 39,400 figure comes from a survey of about 80,000 California businesses, measuring payroll jobs at businesses. In contrast, the number of employed Californians comes from a separate survey of about 4,400 households, measuring people who are employed or unemployed.

Health and education have been particularly important to California's job growth. The private education and health-services sector has added 131,500 jobs over the past year, according to EDD. Strongest monthly growth was concentrated in industries such as private education and health services, which added 18,600 jobs in August.

However, several sectors continued to lose jobs, including professional and business services, information, financial activities, and construction. California's labor force declined by 50,500 people in August, while the number of employed Californians fell by 36,600.