More than eight years after the Great Recession began in December 2007, the majority of California’s most populous regions have regained all jobs lost. As of June 2016, nearly all of Southern California and coastal counties have recovered. These parts of the state are also experiencing the fastest real estate recoveries. However, some northern regions and far inland counties are lagging behind, still in the midst of a drawn-out jobs recovery.

View your county in the map below to find out where you stand on the path to the employment recovery.

Updated 07/27/2016. Original copy released 03/19/2014.

Jobs Recovery Map

Map update 07/27/16

 CountyDec 2007 Jobs
Jun 2016 Jobs
Percent change
Alameda 1,071,700
1,124,400
 +5%
Alpine 860
660
-2%
Amador 12,820
11,920
-7%
Butte 76,800
80,000
+4%
Calaveras 8,950
8,990
+0.4%
Colusa 5,420
6,520
+20%
Contra Costa
1,071,700
1,124,400
+5%
Del Norte 7,940
8,100
+2%
El Dorado 919,900
946,900
+3%
Fresno 313,300
338,700
+8%
Glenn
6,620
6,990
+6%
Humboldt
49,100
48,600
-1%
Imperial
49,500
54,200
+9%
Inyo
7,630
7,710
+1%
Kern
244,100
262,700
+8%
Kings
37,600
38,900
 +3%
Lake
13,850
15,360
+11%
Lassen
10,000
9,860
-1%
Los Angeles
4,287,500
4,381,300
+2%
Madera
36,500
38,700
+6%
Marin
1,022,300
1,082,500
 +6%
Mariposa
5,3606,130+14%
Mendocino
31,010
31,880
+3%
Merced
60,100
65,700
+9%
Modoc
2,510
2,410
-4%
Mono
7,4906,880-8%
Monterey
131,800
137,800
 +5%
Napa
64,800
73,700
+14%
Nevada
30,820
32,060
+4%
Orange
1,530,800
1,589,800
 +4%
Placer
919,900
946,900
+3%
Plumas
6,800
6,910
+2%
Riverside
1,296,100
1,382,900
+7%
Sacramento
919,900
946,900
+3%
San Benito
933,000
1,085,800
 +16%
San Bernardino
1,296,100
1,382,900
+7%
San Diego
1,333,400
1,426,800
+7%
San Francisco 1,022,300
1,082,500
+6%
San Joaquin
216,000
227,100
 +5%
San Luis Obispo
105,500
120,100
+14%
San Mateo
1,022,300
1,082,500
+6%
Santa Barbara
175,400
186,600
+6%
Santa Clara
933,000
1,085,800
 +16%
Santa Cruz
95,800
103,300
+8%
Shasta
65,400
65,700
 +0.5%
Sierra
740
660
-11%
Siskiyou
13,180
13,590
+3%
Solano
130,400
136,200
+4%
Sonoma
194,200
203,600
 +5%
Stanislaus
162,200
172,400
+6%
Sutter
42,100
42,600
+1%
Tehama
15,960
16,130
+1%
Trinity
2,900
3,320
+14%
Tulare
117,200
122,000
+4%
Tuolumne
17,860
17,890
+0.2%
Ventura
300,300
299,400
-0.3%
Yolo
919,900
946,900
+3%
Yuba
42,100
42,600
+1%

The Golden State’s jobs recovery is a complex machine. In Q2 2016, 50 of 58 California counties have completed their job recoveries and employment numbers are continuing to grow. In less affluent counties — mainly the far northern and some inland counties — employment is still struggling to make up that last 10% to reach pre-recession levels.

Statewide, California’s jobs market is about 6% (959,700 jobs) above the pre-recession employment peak as of Q2 2016. It took California almost seven years to regain all jobs lost to the recession. Considering the intervening population increase of 1.2 million working-aged individuals, the employment picture won’t fully recover until around 2018 or 2019 at today’s recovery pace.

Where does your county fall? And what is the significance for your local housing market?

Without income from employment, households cannot rent or buy a home (unless they are subsidized by the government or possess substantial independent wealth). Thus, of all the factors affecting our state’s economy, employment has the most impact on the vigor of local real estate markets. This is true in good economic times and in recession or recovery.

The more quickly your local job markets recovers, the sooner you’ll experience a stable and profitable housing market.

For further reading on California’s jobs recovery, see Jobs move real estate. Or, for a closer look at your county’s economic performance, see first tuesday’s Regional Forecasts.