California’s Mixed Jobs Picture: Government Hiring, Private Sector Declining

But employment growth in the public sector could be stymied as the state reins in spending to close its budget gap.

A builder sands the neck of a guitar at the Fender factory in Corona, Calif., on Oct., 6, 2022. Valerie Macon/ AFP

Over the past two years, California’s job market has weakened for workers in private sector industries, while the number of government jobs has increased, according to a July 1 report from the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office.

“A closer look at this period unveils a more worrisome trend: large and mounting private-sector job losses that have been offset by continued hiring in public sector... fields,” analysts wrote in the report.