December 2025

Released January 27, 2026

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United States

Employment snapshot

• In December, among the 50 states and the District of Columbia unemployment fell in 8, rose in 21, and remained unchanged in 22.

• The highest unemployment rate was 6.7 percent in District of Columbia, and the lowest was 2.2 percent in Hawaii and South Dakota. Nationally, the unemployment rate fell by 0.1 percentage point to 4.4 percent.

• In December, payroll jobs rose in 23 states and fell in 27. The largest payroll job percent increase was 0.4 percent in Delaware and Montana. The largest payroll job percent decline was 0.3 percent in Kansas and Nebraska.

California

Employment snapshot

• In December, California lost 1,700 net payroll jobs and the unemployment rate fell by 0.1 percentage point to 5.5 percent. In the prior month, California added 30,500 net payroll jobs.

• Over the past 12 months, California lost 11,200 net payroll jobs and the unemployment rate remained unchanged.

• Nationally, nonfarm payrolls rose by 50,000 in December, or 0 percent. California is tied for 37th in the nation for percentage gain in nonfarm payroll employment over the past 12 months.

• In December, California’s private sector lost 6,200 net private payroll jobs, and over the past 12 months it lost 31,400 private payroll jobs. In the prior month, California added 22,200 net private payroll jobs.

• In December, employment in California rose by 37,751, and over the past 12 months it rose by 221,092.

• California’s labor force participation rate rose to 62.6 percent in December from 62.5 percent and ranks 28th in the nation. In the past 12 months, the labor force participation rate has risen by 0.5 percentage points.

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California

Payroll employment

• California lost 1,700 net payroll jobs, or 0 percent, on a seasonally adjusted basis during December. In the prior month, California added 30,500 jobs. California nonfarm payroll employment has increased in 4 of the past 12 months.

• Nationally, nonfarm payrolls rose by 50,000 in December, or 0 percent. California is tied for 37th in the nation for percentage gain in nonfarm payroll employment over the past 12 months.

• California lost 6,200 private sector jobs, or 0 percent, on a seasonally adjusted basis during December. In the prior month, California added 22,200 jobs. California private sector payroll employment has increased in 5 of the past 12 months.

• Nationally, private sector payroll jobs rose by 37,000 jobs in December, or 0 percent. California is tied for 42nd in the nation for percentage gain in private sector payroll employment over the past 12 months.

From November 2025 to December 2025:

• The best performing sectors were Private Education and Health Services (+5,000) and State and Local Government (+4,200).
• The worst performing sectors were Construction (-5,000) and Professional and Business Services (-3,700).

From December 2024 to December 2025:

• The best performing sectors were Private Education and Health Services (+152,700) and State and Local Government (+36,700).
• The worst performing sectors were Professional and Business Services (-69,900) and Trade, Transportation, and Utilities (-46,000).

California

Labor force

The labor force participation rate is the percentage of the civilian noninstitutionalized population age 16 and older who are employed or actively looking for work.

• The labor force participation rate in California rose to 62.6 percent in December from 62.5 percent in the prior month.

• California ranks 28th in the nation.

• The 10-year high for the labor force participation rate in California was 63 percent in February 2020, and the 10-year low was 59.6 percent in May 2020.

• The national labor force participation rate fell by 0.1 percentage points to 62.4 percent in December.