The “Looking Glass” ponders economic and real estate trends through two distinct lenses: the optimist’s “glass half-full” and the pessimist’s “glass half-empty.”
Buzz: Californians are slow to the “quit your job” trend.
Source: The state-by-state JOLT (Job Openings and Labor Turnover) report for September by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. It details the reasons behind the swings in broader employment trends.
Debate: Quits are curiously seen as a measure of worker confidence — the more the merrier. Why? Financial logic suggests you don’t quit your current job if you don’t think a replacement is easy to find. So if “voluntary departures” are more popular outside of California, are Golden State workers worried about job prospects?
Glass half-empty
September saw 443,000 quits in California. Again, that’s the most “I’m outta here” notes to the boss among the states. But remember, California is also the nation’s largest job market.
So quitters represent only 2.7% of all workers — the 11th smallest share nationally and below the 3% U.S. quit rate.
But workplace stability isn’t anything exactly new in the state. Between 2000 and 2019, California averaged a 3.2% quit rate, 12th-lowest nationally.
And the pace of California quitting is meekly on the rise in the “Great Resignation” era. September’s voluntary exits were up 8.5% compared to the previous three-month average, only the 29th biggest increase and below 9.3% nationwide.
Glass half-full
California bosses hired 660,000 people in September — tops in the nation — although, that’s only 4% of all workers. That’s the tenth-lowest share nationally and below the 4.4% U.S. rate.
The pace of staffing growth is picking up. California hires compared to the previous three-month average? Up 3.7% (No. 10) vs. a 3.5% nationwide dip.
And firings are rare with 117,000 layoffs or discharges — only 0.7% of all California workers. That’s good news as it’s the seventh-lowest share nationally; below the 0.9% U.S. rate; and down 0.3% (No. 23) vs. the three-month average.
What’s ahead
California bosses need more workers as September had 1.16 million unfilled positions statewide — No. 1 nationally.
Yet those vacant positions equal 6.5% of all California workers, a meager level — it’s No. 33 nationally and just below 6.6% U.S. rate.
There’s improvement, though. Openings compared to the previous three-month average were up 7.7% (No. 8 best) and easily topping a 1.9% drop nationwide.
California’s 1.42 million officially unemployed — again No. 1 — are seeking a paycheck in the nation’s second-most competitive job market.
Look at opening and jobless stats, you see 123 job hunters for every 100 opportunities. Only Hawaii had worse odds for the jobless. Nationally, there were 83 unemployed per 100 opportunities.
Post Script
Simply put, California has 11.4% of all U.S. jobs. However, it has only 11.1% of the nation’s employment opportunities — and 16.4% of all those seeking work.
Jonathan Lansner is business columnist for the Southern California News Group. He can be reached at jlansner@scng.com
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