The total wage and salary employment in the Inland Empire metro area increased by 1,900 in April, after a 9,400 increase in March. April's employment figure was 3.4% below the 4/'09 level, the lowest year-over-year decline in about 22 months. The construction sector lost 500 jobs in April. Compared to its peak in 6/'06, this sector has lost 57% of its job base. The manufacturing sector added 700 jobs in April. Manufacturing employment was lower by 32% from its peak in 6/'06. The logistics sector lost 200 jobs in April. Retail employment was lower by 900. Federal government employment rose by 2,400 in April, probably in large part due to temporary census hiring. (In fact, if government hiring were excluded, the region actually had a job loss of 500 for April.) Based on national data, we can expect a much larger increase in government hiring in May when the Federal government employment increased by 411,000 nationally thanks to census hiring. These census jobs, however, are temporary, and most of the workers will be let go before July.
Link to original data: http://www.calmis.ca.gov/file/indhist/rive$hws.xls
