California may be an expensive place to live, but it is leading the country in job gains for September, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The West Coast in general beats out the other regions in total nonfarm employment as well. Additionally, the report also notes that the construction sector jobs had a strong September compared to last year with a 2.1% increase year-over-year.
Total nonfarm employment, seasonally adjusted (SA) increased by 2.1 million jobs, year-over-year (YoY), or 1.4% from September 2018 to September 2019. During this time, total nonfarm employment in the Western region increased by 2.1%. The South, Northeast, and Midwest recorded gains at 1.8%, 0.9% and 0.7% respectively, during this time.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, nonfarm payroll employment increased in 28 states and decreased in 22 states and the District of Columbia, in September compared to the previous month. California added 21,300 jobs, which was the largest gain of any state. The largest decline came from Virginia, which lost 14,700 jobs during this time. Nationwide, total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 136,000 over the month of September, following an increase of 168,000 jobs in August.