California has 4 of the fastest growing US job markets

One way to gauge California’s relatively solid employment picture in early 2026 is to note that four of the country’s fastest-growing job markets are here.

My trusty spreadsheet looked at the one-year employment change through 2026’s first quarter across the nation’s 100 metropolitan areas with the largest job markets to see who’s boosting staffing – and who’s not.

Stockton had the fastest job growth in California, with 2.1% more jobs over the past year. This was the second-highest growth rate in the country, just behind Fayetteville, Arkansas, at 2.4%.

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Stockton employers added 6,000 workers over 12 months, the 19th largest gain among the 100 metros. This brought the metro’s total employment to 288,700, ranking 92nd.

Only one of California’s 10 largest metros lost jobs: Ventura County, down 0.3% over the year, ranked 74th out of 100.

The loss of 1,100 jobs ranked 66th, bringing Ventura County’s total employment to 317,700 – the 79th largest among the metros.

Want another sign of U.S. job weakness? Employment fell in 44 of the nation’s 100 employment hubs, with the largest drop in Washington, D.C., at 3.1%.

Also Top 10

Here are the other major California job markets that ranked among the 10 fastest-growing this year:

– San Jose: Its 1.4% increase ranked sixth. The addition of 16,700 jobs (also sixth) brought total employment to 1.17 million (33rd largest).

– Fresno: 1.3% increase ranks No. 8 – 6,000 gain (No. 19) to 448,600 (No. 59).

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– Bakersfield: 1.3% increase ranks No. 9 – 3,900 gain (No. 30) to 303,000 (No. 85).

Elsewhere

Here’s how other large California job markets performed over the past year, ranked by percentage growth:

– Sacramento: Its 0.7% increase ranked 26th among the 100 metros. The gain of 7,900 jobs (14th) brought total employment to 1.1 million (35th largest).

– Inland Empire: 0.7% increase ranks No. 27 – 12,100 gain (No. 9) to 1,725,600 (No. 16).

– San Diego: 0.6% increase ranks No. 31 – 9,000 gain (No. 12) to 1,574,900 (No. 18).

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– Los Angeles-Orange County: 0.3% increase ranks No. 42 – 20,000 gain (No. 3) to 6,299,200 (No. 2).

– San Francisco 0.3% increase ranks No. 44. – 7,200 gain (No. 15) to 2,428,500 (No. 12).

Jonathan Lansner is the business columnist for the Southern California News Group. He can be reached at jlansner@scng.com

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