State adds jobs

California’s unemployment rate dropped to five percent in February, according to data released Friday.

That marked eight consecutive months of job growth and was the lowest unemployment rate in the state since February 2007, the state Employment Development Department reported.

The state also added 22,900 jobs in February, building on the revised 15,300 jobs gained during January. Year-over-year job growth to 1.9 percent, the lowest year-over-year growth since April 2012.

That’s still better than the most recent national job growth numbers – 1.6 percent year-over-year – according to the development department.

“Like the nation as a whole, California is essentially at full-employment, said Robert Kleinhenz, economist and executive director of research at the UC Riverside Center for Economic Forecasting and Development, in a statement.

“It’s true we’ll see a somewhat slower pace of job growth compared to recent years, but the wage and income gains that accompany these added jobs will sustain economic growth as we move through the year.”