The “Looking Glass” ponders economic and real estate trends through two distinct lenses: the optimist’s “glass half-full” and the pessimist’s “glass half-empty.”

Buzz: California added the most workers in a year and was No. 3 in the nation for job growth. But the state also had the smallest wage hikes.

Source: My trusty spreadsheet reviewed the quarterly tally of hiring and pay stats from employer records. This data is far more accurate than the monthly survey data we frequently discuss though these quarterly calculations take time to complete. So, this employment analysis is based on the year ending in March.

Debate: What’s behind the split performance?

Glass half-full

California added the most new workers — 1.27 million in a year, or 18% of the 7 million added nationally. Next came Texas at 743,591, Florida at 529,204, New York at 513,584, and New Jersey at 274,642.

Now California is the largest job market with 17.7 million workers or 12% of the 148 million nationally. So the state is often high on many hiring tallies.

Still, when you account for the state’s vast job market, California ranked No. 3 for job growth in this period at 7.7% — topping the 5% national hiring pace.

Top growth? Nevada at 11.6% then Hawaii at 8%. Just after California was New Jersey at 7.2%, and Texas and Florida at 6.1%

Worst? Louisiana at 1.4%, then Nebraska at 1.5%, Iowa at 2.5%, Kansas at 2.5%, and Alabama at 2.5%.

Glass half-empty

California is pricey for employers with the fifth-highest average weekly wage at $1,644 — 20% above the $1,374 nationwide.

Higher pay is in DC at $2,221, then New York at $1,972, Massachusetts at $1,827, and Connecticut at $1,716. The smallest wages were found in Mississippi at $879, then West Virginia at $968, Idaho at $982, and Montana at $991.

And Texas? No. 12 at $1,369. Florida? No. 23 at $1,222.

But this benchmark of California pay was up just 1% over 12 months — far below 6.6% national growth and the smallest gain among the states.

After California at the bottom of this ranking came then Maryland at 2%, DC at 2.6%, Washington state at 3.8%, and Hawaii at 4.2%.

Tops? Wyoming at 11.2%, then Arkansas at 11%, Florida at 10.8%, Maine at 10.3%, and Indiana at 10%. And Texas? No. 14 at 8.7%.

Bottom line

In March 2021, the California economy was still iced by coronavirus business restrictions. This hit leisure and hospitality workers the hardest — and it’s a group with decided low pay.

It’s a key reason why the statewide weekly wage was up 11.6% — the biggest one-year jump in the U.S. — due to the loss of those workers who previously served up “fun” at dining, tourism and entertainment businesses

By March 2022, leisure and hospitality jobs rebounded — and that’s a key reason why California’s average weekly wages barely moved in the 12-month period.

Politically speaking

It’s a year of midterm election madness, so let’s look at this data through a partisan prism — “blue” states (those that supported President Biden in the 2020 election) and “red” states that didn’t support him.

Blue states have 86 million jobs — 39% more than the red’s 62 million. And wages in blue are 28% higher — $1,513 vs. $1,181.

But it’s a what-have-you-done-for-me world, yes?

Job growth was higher in blue states, 5.5% in a year vs. 4.4%. But wage growth was higher on red states, 9% vs. 5.3%.

Jonathan Lansner is the business columnist for the Southern California News Group. He can be reached at [email protected]

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