Data / Covered employment (QCEW) / California

Covered employment (QCEW) in California

Covered employment (QCEW) in California was 18,210,243 jobs in 2025, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. That is up 0.1% from 2024. That is the 1st highest of 51 states in 2025.

2025, jobs18,210,243
Change on 2024+0.1%
Rank1st of 51US states ranked
Series high18,210,2432025
Series low14,414,4612010

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Covered employment (QCEW) in California, 2001 to 2025

14M15M16M17M18M19M20012005200920132017202120252001: 14,981,757 jobs2002: 14,837,334 jobs2003: 14,807,656 jobs2004: 14,953,022 jobs2005: 15,234,188 jobs2006: 15,503,144 jobs2007: 15,640,575 jobs2008: 15,494,915 jobs2009: 14,629,953 jobs2010: 14,414,461 jobs2011: 14,567,128 jobs2012: 14,959,808 jobs2013: 15,378,962 jobs2014: 15,809,082 jobs2015: 16,295,204 jobs2016: 16,718,647 jobs2017: 17,019,702 jobs2018: 17,355,855 jobs2019: 17,631,489 jobs2020: 16,378,059 jobs2021: 16,974,870 jobs2022: 17,903,539 jobs2023: 18,002,893 jobs2024: 18,183,696 jobs2025: 18,210,243 jobs
jobs. Source: BLS, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW): annual average employment, total covered, all industries (NAICS 10), nation, states and counties. Retrieved 2026-10-12, published 2026-08-21.
All 25 values
Periodjobs
202518,210,243
202418,183,696
202318,002,893
202217,903,539
202116,974,870
202016,378,059
201917,631,489
201817,355,855
201717,019,702
201616,718,647
201516,295,204
201415,809,082
201315,378,962
201214,959,808
201114,567,128
201014,414,461
200914,629,953
200815,494,915
200715,640,575
200615,503,144
200515,234,188
200414,953,022
200314,807,656
200214,837,334
200114,981,757

Compared with United States

Place2025
California18,210,243
United States155,732,363

Rankings

Definition

Average number of jobs covered by unemployment insurance during the year, all industries, private and government, from the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Counted where the job is located, from the reports employers file each quarter; monthly employment counts the jobs in the pay period that includes the 12th.

Counts jobs, not people: someone with two jobs counts twice. Covers about 95 percent of US wage and salary jobs. Excludes the self-employed, most agricultural workers on small farms, the armed forces, elected officials in most states, most railroad employees, some domestic workers and most student workers at schools. A count of employer reports, not a survey estimate like oews_employment.

How to cite

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW): annual average employment, total covered, all industries (NAICS 10), nation, states and counties. https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2025/a/industry/10.csv. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Citation styles

The publisher is the author. Invokely is named only as the place the figures were read, where a style asks for it.

APA 7

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2026). Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW): annual average employment, total covered, all industries (NAICS 10), nation, states and counties (Covered employment (QCEW), California, 2001 to 2025) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2025/a/industry/10.csv

MLA 9

Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW): annual average employment, total covered, all industries (NAICS 10), nation, states and counties, Covered employment (QCEW), California, 2001 to 2025. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 21 Aug. 2026, https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2025/a/industry/10.csv. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/covered-employment/california. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. 2026. Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW): annual average employment, total covered, all industries (NAICS 10), nation, states and counties. Covered employment (QCEW), California, 2001 to 2025. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2025/a/industry/10.csv. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/covered-employment/california.

Harvard

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2026) Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW): annual average employment, total covered, all industries (NAICS 10), nation, states and counties, Covered employment (QCEW), California, 2001 to 2025 [Dataset]. Available at: https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2025/a/industry/10.csv, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/en/covered-employment/california (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_covered_employment_qcew_california_2025,
  author = {{U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics}},
  title = {{Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW): annual average employment, total covered, all industries (NAICS 10), nation, states and counties: Covered employment (QCEW), California, 2001 to 2025}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2025/a/industry/10.csv},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/covered-employment/california. Publisher attribution: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW): annual average employment, total covered, all industries (NAICS 10), nation, states and counties. https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2025/a/industry/10.csv. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
TI  - Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW): annual average employment, total covered, all industries (NAICS 10), nation, states and counties: Covered employment (QCEW), California, 2001 to 2025
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/08/21
PB  - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2025/a/industry/10.csv
L2  - https://invokely.ai/en/covered-employment/california
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/covered-employment/california.
N1  - Publisher attribution: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW): annual average employment, total covered, all industries (NAICS 10), nation, states and counties. https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2025/a/industry/10.csv. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -
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Questions

What is the covered employment (QCEW) in California?

Covered employment (QCEW) in California was 18,210,243 jobs in 2025, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. That is up 0.1% from 2024. That is the 1st highest of 51 states in 2025.

Where does this figure come from?

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW): annual average employment, total covered, all industries (NAICS 10), nation, states and counties. Retrieved by Invokely on 2026-10-12.

What was the highest covered employment (QCEW) in California?

18,210,243 jobs in 2025, the highest value since 2001 in this series.

Covered employment (QCEW) elsewhere in United States

Related statistics for California

All statistics for California | California in figures