SACRAMENTO (AP) — California’s jobless rate fell half a percentage point in December as the most populous state added 50,700 nonfarm jobs, accounting for more than a quarter of the country’s 199,000 new jobs for the month, according to new data released Friday .

The state has now regained almost 72% of the 2.7 million jobs it lost in the first few months of the pandemic when Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom imposed the nation’s first statewide house arrest order in spring 2020 to slow the spread of the coronavirus .

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“In a tug-of-war between the positive economic momentum of the state’s economy and the headwinds of COVID, the California economy is making slow but steady progress,” said Sung Won Sohn, finance and economics professor at Loyola Marymount University.

However, he noted that the full impact of the Omicron wave had yet to be felt when the mid-month jobless survey went live.

This has forced airlines to cancel holiday flights, companies to let employees work from home and schools to return to online teaching, among others. It also prompted more parents to stay at home, contributing to what has come to be known as the “great resignation” phenomenon.

California’s unemployment rate of 6.5% is down from 9.3% a year ago as the state added nearly a million jobs since December 2020, the state Employment Development Department reported. Last month’s hiring surge still lagged behind an average gain of 97,200 jobs in earlier months of last year, before slowing in November and now December.

California also stayed well above the national unemployment rate of 3.9%.

The hard-hit leisure and hospitality sector led the rise last month by adding more than 15,000 jobs, with significant gains in food service and drinking establishments, the department said, despite pressure from the latest Omicron wave.

Ten of California’s 11 industrial sectors added jobs in December, and the professional and business services sector has now regained all the jobs it lost at the start of the pandemic.

A 6% increase in nonfarm payrolls in 2021 is the biggest increase in a calendar year for the state since 1990, the ministry said.

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But a big problem remains the “disappearing workforce in California,” said Michael Bernick, former director of employment development and attorney at law firm Duane Morris.

The state remains nearly 920,000 workers short of where it was employed in January 2020, just before the pandemic, he said.

New state-level job turnover data showed 1.1 million job openings in California at the end of November, a number that has held up since August even as employers scramble to find workers. Nevertheless, there were 415,000 voluntary resignations in November.

“Employers continue to report that even job seekers who respond to job offers do not show up for interviews,” Bernick said.

Officials revised the state’s November unemployment rate by 0.1 percentage point to 7%, adding 3,500 unemployed to its previous figure.

Nearly 356,000 people qualified for unemployment insurance during sample week in December, up from nearly 435,000 in November and more than 1 million a year ago. More than 49,000 initial claims were processed during the model week, more than 3,600 fewer than in November and more than 110,000 fewer than a year ago.

Colusa and Imperial counties posted double-digit unemployment rates last month, the worst in the state, while wealthier counties of Marin, San Mateo and Santa Clara in the San Francisco Bay Area had the lowest rates at under 3%.

“This year we will continue to take action to get more people back to work and to support our businesses hardest hit by the pandemic,” Newsom said in a statement.

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SAN JOSE (CBS SF) – New national figures released showing initial jobless claims fell to 184,000 in the week ending December 4, the lowest since September 1969, according to the Department of Labor.

But California is bucking the trend.

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“This morning we had 20 percent of the new jobless claims in the country, while we only got about 11.7 percent of the
civilian workforce, ”said Michael Bernick, labor attorney and former head of the state’s employment development department.

Bernick says several COVID-related factors contribute to California’s oversized proportion of the country’s unemployed.

“Sustained effects of the very strict closings and the impact on our small business economy as well as the heightened concerns about COVID and its variants, childcare and uncertainty about schools,” said Bernick.

Large office buildings and corporate headquarters in downtown San Jose remain largely empty.

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With COVID posing a persistent health threat, companies have postponed plans to return to the office more than once. This has created a ghost town effect on the streets and in restaurants like 4th Street Pizza.

“It still has a profound effect on us,” said Josh McGhie, co-owner of 4th Street Pizza. “I mean, downtown San Jose used to be a busy area. There are very few people out here now. “

Fewer people in the office mean fewer people on the sidewalk buying food, shopping or needing services. That means reduced working hours for small businesses and their employees.

In addition, there is a segment of the California workforce that is slow to return to work, even when jobs are available.

“Young people, it seems, don’t want a job. It’s definitely hard to hire people, ”said McGhie.

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It makes it difficult especially for small businesses, which McGhie says are still operating in survival mode.

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CBS San Francisco Employee Report

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) – With a surge in coronavirus cases, the information you need to know comes fast and furious. Here is a recap of the COVID stories we’ve published over the past 24 hours.

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California Lifts Restrictive COVID-19 Stay-At-Home Order; ‘Light at the end of the tunnel’
SAN FRANCISCO – Governor Gavin Newsom announced Monday that California would lift a restrictive stay at home order for all five regions of California on Monday, paving the way for a return to limited dining, religious services and other activities. The state is now returning to the enforcement system, with most of the counties initially on the purple plain. State officials also lifted a curfew between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. Sectors reopened include outdoor restaurants, gyms, places of worship, and wineries. Indoor retail stores can be 25% busy, along with personal care services like hair and nail salons. After the stay at home order was canceled, some shuttered stores did not take long to resume operations. Continue reading

Project House: Eviction Moratorium A lifeline for struggling tenants in the Bay Area, but it’s too late for some
SANTA ROSA – Legislators are running out of time to extend California’s eviction moratorium. If lawmakers don’t pass law this week, one in five Californians could lose their home. “I’m like really desperate so as you can see I cry a lot,” said Ofelia Camacho. The nationwide eviction moratorium is the only thing keeping Camacho’s parents and family of seven off the streets. “I feel like my parents helped the community a lot. We’ve spent a lot and we feel like the community doesn’t have their backs, ”said Camacho. Despite the moratorium, her landlord tried three times to evict her this year, mainly because there are allegedly too many people living in one house. Camacho’s father used to work in a local vineyard, but suffered nerve damage in his legs when heavy machinery fell on him. Even so, they managed to pay rent, sell items at the flea market, and take out loans from other family members. She is concerned that the generosity may run out soon. Continue reading

Marin County officials reveal what will reopen under Purple Tier
SAN RAFAEL – Hours after state health officials lifted a restrictive home stay order, Marin County’s health director released a list of businesses allowed to reopen in the county under the Purple Tier. After repealing the state at home, the state is now returning to the enforcement system, with most of the counties initially on the purple plain. “Everyone has sacrificed to get this surge under control and it is paying off,” said Dr. Marin County’s health officer Matt Willis in a press release. “When we return to the purple level, it is important to remember that the virus is still very active in our community. We could easily fall behind if we let go of our guard. “The county-by-county tier system uses various metrics to determine the risk of community transmission and applies a color code – purple, red, orange, or yellow – that corresponds to widespread, substantial, moderate, or minimal, respectively. Continue reading

The risk of triggering another surge is for business owners and nurses
SAN FRANCISCO – With the home stay order cleared, some wonder if it’s too early and if a relapse into the rising COVID-19 cases and hospital stays is inevitable. “It’s a calculated one, I’m not sure if ‘gambling’ is the right word, but there is an element of uncertainty,” said Dr. Kind of pure gold from UC Berkeley of the bed capacity in the intensive care unit and the like. “Counties are returning to color-coded plains, most of them purple and all of them in the Bay Area. In some counties, alfresco dining has already started, as has haircuts. Arthur Sebastian, owner of the Arthur Sebastian Salon in Cow Hollow, spoke to KPIX in May. Then he showed Plexiglas partitions and social distancing measures. Continue reading

Santa Clara Co. Hospital under fire because school workers were “cut” to the top of the line
SAN JOSE – A Bay Area hospital has come under fire after a group gained access to coronavirus vaccine at the head of the line. Santa Clara County suspended the distribution of vaccines to Good Samaritan Hospital in San Jose after it became known that the hospital vaccinated school district employees who were not health care providers. The hospital currently only offers vaccines to first responders and health care workers, a group known as Tier 1A. Last Thursday, Los Gatos Union school district superintendent Paul Johnson emailed staff saying the Good Samaritan is offering vaccinations to school district staff. Program. Those who register for vaccination should register as if they were health care workers. Continue reading

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California’s Secretary of Labor says criminal rings have looted at least $ 11 billion in unemployment benefits
SACRAMNETO – Sophisticated hackers, identity thieves, and overseas criminal rings stole over $ 11 billion in unemployment benefits in California last year, but the scale of the fraud could be far greater: billions more payments are being investigated. California Labor Secretary Julie Su told reporters on a conference call Monday that of the $ 114 billion the state paid for unemployment claims, about 10% – or $ 11.4 billion – has been confirmed fraudulent. Almost $ 20 billion more – another 17% – is viewed as suspicious, and much of that could be viewed as fraud, she said. “There is no such thing as a sugar coating in reality,” said Su. “California did not have adequate security measures to prevent this level of fraud, and criminals took advantage of the situation.” Continue reading

Santa Clara County Lifts Prohibition of Team Sports; Sharks return to the SAP center
SAN JOSE – Santa Clara County health officials announced changes to current COVID restrictions on Monday after the state lifted the home stay order, including an end to the ban on all team sports. All sports, including college and professional, are allowed to resume, according to county officials. The San Jose Sharks were supposed to be playing their home games in Arizona but could now host games at the SAP Center in San Jose if they followed proper protocols. “To ensure that all of these athletes and their staff limit exposure to the broader community and basically stay in their households or participate in their activities, there is clearly no social distancing in close contact sports,” said James, county counsel by Santa Clara R. Williams. Continue reading

San Francisco will offer al fresco dining and personal services starting Thursday
SAN FRANCISCO – Mayor London Breed announced Monday that the state’s repeal of the stay-at-home ordinance would allow San Francisco to ease COVID restrictions starting this Thursday. The mayor first briefed her on the city’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic since state health officials lifted the home stay order on Monday morning. The mayor said the city’s case rate fell from 372 cases per day to 261 new cases per day on Monday. There are currently 194 people hospitalized in the city with COVID, and the infection rate (R-effective) has dropped below one. The city’s ICU capacity is currently stabilized at around 26%, Breed said.
“The good news is that we are in a better place than we have been in a long time,” she said after showing the latest figures. Continue reading

Safari Park Gorillas Recover from Contagious COVID-19 Strain; The San Diego Zoo receives a vaccine for animals
SAN DIEGO – The gorillas at San Diego Zoo Safari Park are on their way to a full recovery after being diagnosed with COVID-19, zoo officials said Monday. San Diego Zoo officials say the eight-person troop eat, drink, and interact normally after several members’ feces tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. The troops were infected with the B.1.429 variant of the coronavirus, which is on the rise in California and, according to official information, is more contagious than other strains. The troop was tested after some of the gorillas showed symptoms, including a slight cough, constipation, nasal discharge, and intermittent lethargy. Officials at the zoo took the troop’s silverback, Winston, an extra step due to his advanced age and concern for his underlying medical conditions. Continue reading

Moderna says its COVID-19 vaccine works on variants but plans a booster for South African strain
SAN FRANCICSO – Moderna said new research shows its COVID-19 vaccine is effective against variants of the virus from the UK and South Africa. “Out of caution”, however, the company in Cambridge will develop a booster shot for the South African variety. “We are encouraged by this new data, which increases our confidence that the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine should protect against these newly discovered variants,” said Stéphane Bancel, CEO of Moderna, in a statement on Monday. “Out of caution and using the flexibility of our mRNA platform, we are bringing a new variant booster candidate against the variant identified for the first time in the Republic of South Africa to the clinic in order to determine whether it is more effective to increase the titre against this and possibly future variants. “Both the South African and British variants are spreading faster and are more infectious forms of the virus. Continue reading

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California extends eviction moratorium to June 30th
SACRAMENTO – California officials announced Monday that the state plans to extend the current eviction moratorium through June 30 for those struggling to pay rent during the COVID-19 pandemic. The proposal, which must be approved by state lawmakers, would extend a state law slated to expire in late January, preventing landlords from evicting renters who were unable to pay their rent between March and August because of the coronavirus pandemic. To be eligible, renters must pay at least 25% of their rent due between September 1st and January 31st. Governor Gavin Newsom issued a joint statement with Senate President Pro Tempore Toni Atkins and Assembly Spokesperson Anthony Rendon to extend the eviction moratorium, which aims to protect Californians affected by COVID-19. “COVID-19 continues to devastate communities in our state, and too many Californians are one paycheck away from losing their homes or homes. These families now need protection and relief, ”the statement said. Continue reading

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