California’s employment market came to a halt in January by producing zero job gains — and zero losses — last month, in a new government report that points to a drastic slowdown in statewide job creation.

The total number of jobs in California was approximately 18.03 million in January, unchanged from December, the state Employment Development Department reported.

The one bright spot: California’s statewide jobless rate improved and declined to 5.4% in January compared with 5.5% in December, according to the state EDD’s latest estimate.

The unchanged status for California’s employment totals hints at a pattern of a steadily slowing jobs sector statewide, a trend that began to emerge as 2024 advanced.

California had 18,032,400 nonfarm payroll jobs in January, precisely the same as the 18,032,400 jobs reported in the state in December. The numbers were adjusted for seasonal volatility.

However, this news organization’s review of the state EDD’s original estimates for California’s job totals points to a picture of a much weaker statewide job market than previously reported by the state government.

When the EDD originally reported the California job totals, it estimated that the state had about 18.13 payroll jobs.

The new official estimate shows California had 97,000 fewer jobs than initially reported for December.