UPDATED: How to Kill a State in 5 Easy Steps – Gavin Newsom’s California

California is one of only five states that haven’t recovered to pre-COVID job levels, and even our partial recovery is entirely dependent on government jobs.

The California Center for Jobs & the Economy recently reported: “California’s job growth has been dominated by government and government dependent jobs in Healthcare & Social Assistance.” …and “other than in Trade, California has not grown jobs during the past 4 years of recovery; it has bought them with public funds. California has not expanded its tax base; it has used that tax base to cover its competitive weakness for private sector jobs.”

It’s clearly time for another article showing how California Governor Gavin Newsom is killing California.

Today California ranks toward the bottom in attracting all newcomers from other parts of the country, demographer Joel Kotkin recently reported. “Rather, many affluent young professionals are migrating out of the state. In 2022, California lost more than 200,000 net migrants 25 or older, the bulk of whom had either four-year or associate degrees, while that cohort’s numbers surged in Nevada, Arizona, Texas, Florida and the Carolinas.”

The numbers don’t lie.

Our last article on this topic exposed Newsom’s economy:

California’s job openings declined 30% in 2024, as unemployment spiked. And, Governor Gavin Newsom gave fast food workers a minimum wage increase to $20 per hour. Even as private sector businesses and residents have been fleeing California’s high taxes and high cost of living, Newsom hired more state employees, expanding the size of state government.

Since September 2022 – while Newsom had the state on full lockdown – California lost a net 154,000 jobs in the private sector and gained 361,000 jobs in the public sector, according to California’s non-partisan Legislative Analyst’s Office, last year.

The year-over-year unemployment rate in September 2024 increased to 5.3% from 5% — more than a percentage point above the national rate of 4.1% and the second worst in the US, the data showed. Only Nevada had a higher jobless rate at 5.6%.

Ouch.

The Legislative Analyst’s Office published “Annual Revision to Monthly Jobs Survey Shows Far Fewer Job Gains in 2024,” which showed no growth at end of 2024.

As the LAO explains, businesses in the state are surveyed about their current payroll. These surveys are used to estimate how the total number of jobs in each state changes from month to month. Each March, federal officials correct (or “revise”) the monthly survey estimates to match actual payroll records collected from businesses each year. In most years, the annual correction is small and does not does materially affect our interpretation of the state’s labor markets. One important exception is that revisions tend to be more meaningful during economic downturns, with monthly survey estimates often overstating the number of jobs.

“Recent Rebenching Shows State Added Far Fewer Jobs Than Originally Thought,” the LAO reported.

Here are the latest June 2025 California unemployment numbers:

Interestingly, The sectors that gained jobs in June were: Private Educational and Health Services (9,900); Leisure and Hospitality (4,300); Construction (3,800) and Government (3,100). The sectors that lost jobs were: Professional and Business Services (-9,900); Manufacturing (-6,400); Information (-6,100); Trade, Transportation and Utilities (-4,600); Other Services (-100) and Financial Activities (-100). Mining and Logging remained unchanged.

Specifically, Government payrolls increased by 3,100 jobs in June. This followed a 2,400 job-gain in May. Over the year, government sector employment was up by 53,100 jobs (2.0 percent).

This is incredibly important as more than 4 million people left California for other states since the start of the century. As Kotkin reported in April, “California’s Long-Term Population Slide Threatens Its Economy. The state is losing its youthful energy.”

He reported that the U.S. Census Bureau recently revealed a small increase in California’s population, but most of the small bump appears to be the result of the historic illegal immigration surge courtesy of the four years of Biden Administration’s open borders.

“The current newcomers appear to come from poorer countries, many are undocumented, and in the short term at least, that could put stress on local economies and on the salaries of low-income workers who compete with them for living space, jobs and social services.”

He says last year’s count still leaves the state’s numbers below where they stood in 2020, and its growth rate is below the national average and well below that of key competitor states.

“Comparing census numbers from 2010 to 2024, California’s population has increased by less than 6 percent; in Texas, Arizona, North Carolina, Georgia and Utah, the increases range from 15 percent to nearly 30 percent.”

Kotkin says “The numbers tell the story. From 2020 to 2024, the state added 934,000 international migrants, compared to a net domestic migration loss of 1.46 million residents. California’s out-migration has come to resemble the pattern long associated with Rust Belt states.”

As the EDD reports, “Over the month, the unemployment rate increased in 55 counties in June. Over the year, the unemployment rate increased in 56 out of 58 counties.”

As the LAO reported las year, California’s public-sector job gains have offset broad weakness in the private-sector labor market – California government grows while the private sector suffers.

“Nationally, Private-Sector Employment Continues to Grow.”

This should never happen in an economically healthy state. The numbers don’t lie but Governor Newsom does. His “More Jobs, Faster Recovery” claims ring hollow.