California lost more than 20,000 jobs in January

California lost 20,300 jobs in January as employers sliced payrolls while grappling with the slowing national economy and stubborn housing slump, state officials announced last week. The January job figures followed a revised gain of 11,400 jobs in December, the Employment Development Department reported. Revised annual job figures showed the state added only 14,900 payroll jobs in the 12-month period ended Jan. 31, a tiny 0.1 percent increase. The once-booming construction sector accounted for the most job cuts, shedding 69,300 positions, a 7.6 percent annual drop.

“These revisions, while not unexpected, highlight the probability that economic growth in 2008 will be lower than expected, which in turn will intensify the pressures on state and local budgets,” Stephen Levy, director of the Center for Continuing Study of the California Economy, wrote in a research brief. About 1.1 million Californians were looking for work in January, unchanged from December, but up by 182,000 since January 2007, the state agency reported. More than half were laid off, while 115,800 people chose to leave their job. The rest were either temporarily employed or new job seekers. The unemployment rate was 5.9 percent.