{"id":3383,"date":"2026-06-30T13:40:30","date_gmt":"2026-06-30T13:40:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=3383"},"modified":"2026-06-30T13:40:30","modified_gmt":"2026-06-30T13:40:30","slug":"is-californias-unemployment-rate-really-10","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=3383","title":{"rendered":"Is California\u2019s unemployment rate really 10%?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<div><iframe allow=\"geolocation\" allowfullscreen=\"yes\" allowtransparency=\"1\" class=\"iframe\" height=\"550px\" id=\"6a43c6a0bc20d\" loading=\"lazy\" scrolling=\"yes\" src=\"https:\/\/flo.uri.sh\/visualisation\/29536294\/embed\" width=\"100%\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>California is a national unemployment leader, no matter how you do the math.<\/p>\n<p>But what does that really say about the state of the state\u2019s job market?<\/p>\n<p>My trusty spreadsheet reviewed a spin on the traditional jobless rate to check on California\u2019s standing. This \u201cU-6\u201d measure, as federal job counters call it, offers a broader view of workers\u2019 struggles to find decent jobs.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=3381\">Northern California girl suffers \u2018significant\u2019 injuries after being attacked by six dogs<\/a><\/p>\n<p>This yardstick counts not only people who are actively looking for jobs \u2014 the basis for the traditional jobless tally \u2014 but it also includes \u201cdiscouraged\u201d folks who want a job but haven\u2019t looked recently. Plus, it counts the \u201cunderemployed\u201d \u2013 workers with part-time jobs who really want a full-time gig.<\/p>\n<p>Some folks say this is the \u201creal\u201d unemployment rate, but for this discussion, let\u2019s call it the worker disappointment rate.<\/p>\n<p>As of the third quarter of 2025, the latest stats available, California\u2019s disappointment rate was 10%. That\u2019s the highest in the nation and well above the national median of 7.3%.<\/p>\n<p>After California came Nevada at 9.6% and Michigan at 9.3%; the lowest disappointment rate was found in South Dakota at 4.6%, followed by Alabama and Vermont at 5.4%.<\/p>\n<p>Note that this job dissatisfaction measure wasn\u2019t exactly kind to California\u2019s economic arch-rivals either. Texas\u2019 7.9% rate ranked 17th-highest, while Florida\u2019s 7.4% ranked No. 25.<\/p>\n<div>\n<\/div>\n<h4>On the decline<\/h4>\n<p>The good news is that recent worker disappointment runs well below the 20-year average \u2013 statewide and nationally.<\/p>\n<p>The bad news for Californians is that the state has long ranked high on this chart. California\u2019s average rate of 13.4% since 2005 has tied Nevada for No. 1 among the states.<\/p>\n<p>Nationally, the disappointment rate ran at 10%. The 20-year lows were found in North Dakota at 5.8%, South Dakota at 6.4%, and Nebraska at 6.7%.<\/p>\n<p>And California\u2019s rivals? Texas\u2019 9.7% ranked No. 31, and Florida\u2019s 10.9% was No. 13.<\/p>\n<div>\n<\/div>\n<h4>Not unexpected<\/h4>\n<p>California\u2019s lofty disappointment grade mirrors its standing on the traditional unemployment scorecard, which is derived from the same household surveys.<\/p>\n<p>A short-term lens shows California\u2019s 5.5% jobless rate for 2025\u2019s third quarter ranked second among the states while the national rate was 4%. Only the District of Columbia at 6.5% was higher.<\/p>\n<p>The lowest jobless rates were in South Dakota and Hawaii, at 2.1%. The rivals? Texas\u2019 4.2% ranked No. 21 and Florida\u2019s 4% ranked No. 26.<\/p>\n<p>Looking back over two decades, again we\u2019re seeing lower rates \u2013 with California still high on the scorecard.<\/p>\n<p>California\u2019s 7.1% average rate was above the national median of 5.6% and was topped only by Nevada\u2019s 7.5% among the states.<\/p>\n<p>The lowest was in North Dakota at 3%, South Dakota at 3.2% and Nebraska at 3.3%. The rivals? Texas\u2019 5.4% ranked No. 29, as Florida\u2019s 5.8% was No. 21.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=3379\">San Leandro police detail accused two-time killer\u2019s \u2019emotionless\u2019 confession after gym shootings<\/a><\/p>\n<h4>Bad job market?<\/h4>\n<p>By jobless counts, California looks like a bad place for workers.<\/p>\n<p>But consider how many opportunities were created over the past two decades, based on job counts taken from employer surveys.<\/p>\n<p>California added 2.9 million jobs over these 20 years, accounting for 12% of the national employment expansion of 23.9 million jobs. Only Texas added more at 4.5 million. Florida\u2019s 2.1 million was No. 3.<\/p>\n<p>But that\u2019s not a total surprise, as California is the nation\u2019s biggest job market. But look at the hiring pace, as a percentage of all employment, and you might be surprised to learn that California was an above-average job creator even when its economic heft was accounted for.<\/p>\n<p>Since 2005, California jobs have grown 19% \u2013 the 16th-fastest pace, just ahead of the nation\u2019s 18% growth. It seems that California workers are flexible enough to find the many new positions the state\u2019s employers create.<\/p>\n<p>Still, see what the top job creators did over 20 years: Utah (up 53%), Texas (up 46%) or Idaho (up 44%). And Florida\u2019s 27% growth ranked No. 10.<\/p>\n<h4>How can this be?<\/h4>\n<p>Unemployment figures are certainly a gauge of who\u2019s unhappy with the job market.<\/p>\n<p>And swings in joblessness can drive changes in everything from consumer sentiment to shopping patterns to bill-paying ability.<\/p>\n<p>But, curiously, higher joblessness seems to appeal to the many employers who prefer a wide selection of candidates to staff their operations. Low unemployment can stunt job growth.<\/p>\n<p>Plus, dynamic economies that create significant employment opportunities often require noteworthy risk-taking. But when certain business ideas don\u2019t pan out, job losses are created.<\/p>\n<p>So, think about the past two decades and rank the states by their worker disappointment rate \u2013 then eyeball their job creation.<\/p>\n<p>Bosses in the 17 states with the highest levels of worker disappointment added 10 million jobs, representing 18% employment growth.<\/p>\n<p>Compare that to the 17 states with low disappointment: only 3.4 million jobs created, or 14% growth.<\/p>\n<p>Or ponder this economic puzzle this way.<\/p>\n<p>Five of the 10 fastest-growing job markets since 2005 \u2013 Nevada, Washington, Arizona, Florida and North Carolina \u2013 were states with a high disappointment rate.<\/p>\n<p>Just three of the Top 10 growth states \u2013 Idaho, Utah and North Dakota \u2013 came from the lowest disappointment rates.<\/p>\n<p>California isn\u2019t some oddity. Elevated joblessness, discouragement or underemployment doesn\u2019t always mean a state has a bad job market.<\/p>\n<p><em>Jonathan Lansner is the business columnist for the Southern California News Group. He can be reached at jlansner@scng.com<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=3377\">Oakland man convicted of torturing Bay Area artist Zoe Reidy Watts to death<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The good news is that worker disappointment runs well below the 20-year average \u2013 statewide and nationally.  <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3382,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3383","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Is California\u2019s unemployment rate really 10%? - Next City Digest<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=3383\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Is California\u2019s unemployment rate really 10%? - Next City Digest\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The good news is that worker disappointment runs well below the 20-year average \u2013 statewide and nationally.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=3383\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Next City Digest\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-30T13:40:30+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=3383#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=3383\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b\"},\"headline\":\"Is California\u2019s unemployment rate really 10%?\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-30T13:40:30+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=3383\"},\"wordCount\":878,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=3383#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/c14f83c99e2db4a5e2b87771f56f0a5c.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"Business\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=3383#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=3383\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=3383\",\"name\":\"Is California\u2019s unemployment rate really 10%? - Next City Digest\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=3383#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=3383#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/c14f83c99e2db4a5e2b87771f56f0a5c.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-30T13:40:30+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=3383#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=3383\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=3383#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/c14f83c99e2db4a5e2b87771f56f0a5c.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/c14f83c99e2db4a5e2b87771f56f0a5c.webp\",\"width\":1024,\"height\":576},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=3383#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Is California\u2019s unemployment rate really 10%?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Next City Digest\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Is California\u2019s unemployment rate really 10%? - Next City Digest","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=3383","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Is California\u2019s unemployment rate really 10%? - Next City Digest","og_description":"The good news is that worker disappointment runs well below the 20-year average \u2013 statewide and nationally.","og_url":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=3383","og_site_name":"Next City Digest","article_published_time":"2026-06-30T13:40:30+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=3383#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=3383"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/#\/schema\/person\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b"},"headline":"Is California\u2019s unemployment rate really 10%?","datePublished":"2026-06-30T13:40:30+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=3383"},"wordCount":878,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=3383#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/c14f83c99e2db4a5e2b87771f56f0a5c.webp","articleSection":["Business"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=3383#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=3383","url":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=3383","name":"Is California\u2019s unemployment rate really 10%? - Next City Digest","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=3383#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=3383#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/c14f83c99e2db4a5e2b87771f56f0a5c.webp","datePublished":"2026-06-30T13:40:30+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/#\/schema\/person\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=3383#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=3383"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=3383#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/c14f83c99e2db4a5e2b87771f56f0a5c.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/c14f83c99e2db4a5e2b87771f56f0a5c.webp","width":1024,"height":576},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=3383#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Is California\u2019s unemployment rate really 10%?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/","name":"Next City Digest","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/#\/schema\/person\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/nextcitydigest.com"],"url":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3383","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3383"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3383\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3382"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3383"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3383"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3383"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}