A new Pacific Research Institute study released this week paints a stark picture of California’s job market, with private-sector employment either stagnating or shrinking, tech and manufacturing shedding jobs, and some of the state’s biggest metros actually losing residents. The authors argue that a mix of high costs, heavy regulation and fiscal choices has cooled hiring and could fuel a fresh round of economic and budget battles in Sacramento, just as candidates and lawmakers are already trading competing storylines about where the state is headed.
What the study found
According to a report by the Pacific Research Institute, California’s nonfarm job growth from February 2020 through December 2025 was roughly 2 percent, less than half the 4.3 percent gain recorded nationwide, and the state lost nearly 52,000 tech jobs in 2024. The paper also finds that California has about 334 manufacturing jobs per 10,000 residents, well below leaders such as Wisconsin and Indiana, and it flags a one-year population drop in Los Angeles County of 53,394 people between…..