Jan. 22--California employers added 60,400 net jobs in December, according to state data, one of the largest one-month gains in the last three years.
The state unemployment rate, based on a separate survey of households, increased slightly to 5.8% in December from 5.7% in November. The nationwide unemployment rate is at 5%.
December's strong job growth in California lines up with robust jobs numbers announced earlier this month for the U.S. overall. Over the last year, California has added jobs at a rate of 2.9%, faster than the 1.9% growth rate nationwide.
One major question is whether that pace of job growth will continue, as global markets have gotten off to a tumultuous start in 2016 amid fears of a slowdown in China and other parts of the world.
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California's huge job gains in December came after a more tepid increase of 7,200 jobs in November. The November figure was revised up from 5,500.
Over the last year, the fastest growth has come in the construction industry, which expanded payrolls at a rate of 8.6%, and professional and business services, which grew at a 5% rate.
Manufacturing growth was down slightly for the year. The biggest loss for the year: a 9.6% decline in the mining and logging sector, which is tied to the energy industry.
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