Steve Milne, Capital Public Radio
New figures show mass layoffs last year in California were the lowest in four-years. California employers took 4,378 “mass layoff actions” last year, meaning layoffs involving at least 50 workers.
“In terms of the last couple of years it’s actually down which is a good sign,” said Todd Johnson, an economist with the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics which released the data. California posted the lowest number of mass layoff actions since 2007. Those actions resulted in 377,413 people losing their jobs.
Johnson says of all the job sectors, “administrative services” had the most mass layoffs in 2011.
“The second highest group of employees was in local government. It’s fairly well-documented in the last couple of years how, in California, local government has received a pretty hard time.”
Sectors recording a drop in mass layoffs last year include manufacturing and construction.
Meanwhile, California has topped all states in the number of jobs added between May and June, according the bureau. The report stated that over the month, California added 38,300 jobs, followed by Ohio with 18,400, and North Carolina with 16,900.
The Golden State also topped the nation for the number of jobs added between June 2011 and June 2012, with California adding 279,100 jobs over the year period.
California’s unemployment rate in June stood at 10.7 percent, down from 10.8 percent in May.