Southern California job creation 80% below normal

New jobs stats suggest Southern California bosses were cautious about expanding staff as 2025 wound down.

My trusty spreadsheet, filled with recently released employment figures from the Employment Development Dept., found 8.1 million at work in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties in November. That employment level, which is not adjusted for seasonal swings, was 100 jobs below December 2024’s record high.

Southern California’s bosses added only 20,600 workers in the year ended in November.