As your State Assemblymember, one of my most important responsibilities is holding Sacramento accountable when their policies fail working families, workers, and employers.
Right now, California is falling behind the rest of the nation on one of the most basic measures of economic health: job creation and retention.
California Unemployment Is Rising—and Worse Than the National Average
According to the latest labor data, California’s unemployment rate stands at 5.6 percent, 22% higher than the national rate of 4.6 percent.
Since Gavin Newsom took office in January 2019, California’s unemployment rate has risen from 4.2 percent to approximately 5.5 percent—a nearly thirty percent increase. Today, roughly 1.1 million Californians are out of work.
Those numbers represent real people—families who want to work, provide for their households, and build a future—but can’t because Sacramento’s policies are pushing jobs out of our state.
Private Jobs Are Leaving While the Size of Government Grows
Instead of creating conditions for private-sector growth, California politicians have been moving the state in the opposite direction.
In the most recent year of available data, the state lost approximately 140,000 private-sector jobs while adding 350,000 government positions. Key industries like manufacturing, professional services, and trade have all experienced job losses.
You can’t build a strong economy by taxing, regulating, and driving job creators out of California while expanding government payrolls.
Sacramento Turned Your Jobs Safety Net into a Fraud-Ridden Mess Mired in Debt
California’s unemployment system is also in serious trouble.
When Governor Newsom took office, the state’s Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund had a $4.3 billion surplus. Today, California owes the federal government between $21 and $23 billion.
As a result, employers are now facing higher payroll taxes to repay that debt—making it harder to hire workers and increasing the risk of even more job losses.
That’s a vicious cycle: rising unemployment leads to more debt, which leads to higher taxes, which cost even more jobs.
I’m Fighting to Create More Jobs with Common-Sense Policies
I will continue fighting for policies that restore opportunity and put workers and job creators first, including:
- Creating a competitive environment for private-sector job growth
- Reducing taxes and regulations that drive businesses out of California
- Restoring accountability in state programs
- Ending policies that punish employers for Sacramento’s mismanagement
California’s economy should work for the people who live and work here—not against them.
If you have concerns about jobs, unemployment, or economic issues affecting your community, I encourage you to contact my office. My team is here to help and fight for solutions.