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Southern California job growth 48% below normal

April 17, 2026

Southern California bosses adding staff at half the historic pace is another sign of widespread economic uncertainty.

My trusty spreadsheet reviewed January employment stats for five Southern California metropolitan areas, dating back to 2010, that were released by the state Employment Development Department on Friday, April 17. The data is adjusted for seasonal fluctuations.

The figures show local bosses employed 9.94 million in January, up 65,500 in a year – or a gain of 0.7%. However, that job creation looks modest by historical standards.

The one-year increase equals the fastest job-creation pace since May 2025. But it’s also 48% below the 125,700 average annual employment growth seen during the past 16 years.

Local bosses have been wary of adding staff as the business climate wavers amid challenges such as the Trump administration’s tariffs and immigration crackdowns, stubbornly high interest rates and inflation, and weak consumer confidence. January’s uncertainties do not include any business upheaval after the Iranian conflict began in late March.

New jobs are also hard to find across the rest of California. Those bosses had 8.21 million jobs in January, representing a 65,700-year gain – or 0.8%. This job creation was 46% below the 120,600 16-year average.

Nationally speaking, note that California overall added 131,200 workers in the past year – the largest job creation among the states for January.

Locally speaking

The job additions were not universal across Southern California. See how it varied, ranked by one-year employment change …

– Los Angeles County: 4,621,400 jobs, up 38,400 in a year – or a gain of 0.8%. This job creation is 13% below the 44,100 16-year average.

– Inland Empire: 1,731,500 jobs, up 19,100 in a year – or a gain of 1.1%. Job creation is 48% below the 36,500 16-year average.

– San Diego County: 1,576,200 jobs, up 7,800 in a year – or a gain of 0.5%. Job creation is 64% below the 21,500 16-year average.

– Ventura County: 319,300 jobs, up 200 in a year – or a gain of 0.1%. Job creation is 93% below the 2,900 16-year average.

– Orange County: 1,692,900 jobs, flat during the year vs. historic job creation of 20,700 since 2010.

Jonathan Lansner is the business columnist for the Southern California News Group. He can be reached at jlansner@scng.com

Orange County Register

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Southern California job growth 48% below normal

Locally speaking

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