California Leads the Nation in Job Losses: Federal Data

California currently leads the nation in job losses, with a recent wave of layoffs particularly hitting the tech sector hard, according to the latest federal government data. According to the Federal Reserve of Economic Data (FRED), some 482,700 residents of California lost their jobs since the beginning of this year, positioning the Golden State as the biggest job loser in the country. It was followed by Texas with 274,900 job cuts, then New York with 220,600, Illinois with 155,700, and Florida with 141,900. Overall, the first quarter of 2023 has seen 931,700 Californians left jobless—a 20 percent surge compared to the same period in the previous year. When it comes to unemployment rates, the FRED report shows a steady rise in the share of jobless workers in California’s workforce since August 2022, peaking at a staggering 5.3 percent in February, up from 5.2 percent in January and 4.5 percent a year earlier....