THE IE LABOR MARKET PULSE
Monthly Analysis and Insights on the Latest Riverside and San Bernardino Jobs Data
April 22, 2025
UNEMPLOYMENT RATE SEES SLIGHT DECLINE; LABOR FORCE GROWS BY 16,000
The Inland Empire’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 5.3% in March 2025, reflecting a slight 0.1% decrease from the previous month. The California unemployment rate also saw a slight decline, dipping down by 0.1% to 5.3%, while the US rate ticked up by 0.1% to 4.2%. Additionally, the Inland Empire reported a net loss of 1,600 jobs compared to the prior month, indicating a modest contraction in regional employment.
Government (+2,000 jobs) and Health Care and Social Assistance (+1,800 jobs) saw the largest job gains in industries across the region in March 2025. Transportation and Warehousing (-4,200 jobs), Construction (-700 jobs), and Retail Trade (-700 jobs) experienced the largest job losses across all industries. However, the declines in the Transportation and Warehousing and Retail Trade were less severe compared to those reported in February. Last month, 16,700 individuals joined the labor force—either by finding a job or resuming their job search—growing the total civilian labor force in Riverside and San Bernardino Counties to 2.247 million people.
INLAND EMPIRE JOB LOSSES ACROSS MOST SECTORS OUTPACE JOB GAINS
The latest employment data from the California Labor Market Information Division (LMID) shows that the region lost 1,600 nonfarm jobs between February and March 2025—a 0.1% decline in employment. This decline contrasts with the four-year average, in which the region typically gains nearly 2,600 jobs during the same period. Notable deviations from historical patterns occurred in the Construction, Manufacturing, and Information sectors. Despite job losses over the month, the region is still up 3,700 jobs over the year.
Despite the overall job losses, the Accommodation and Food Services, Government, and Health Care and Social Assistance sectors saw job growth. The Government sector added 2,000 jobs, a 0.7% increase, while the Health Care and Social Assistance sector expanded by 0.6%, adding 1,800 jobs, and Accommodation and Food Services added 700 jobs, growing by 0.4%. Three industry sectors experienced no changes in employment over the month.
Figure 1: Monthly Job Losses, by Losing Industry, Inland Empire-Desert Region, March 2025
Source: CA EDD LMID, Industry Employment March 2025
In March 2025, three industry sectors that typically see modest job gains between February and March experienced slight contractions. These sectors include Construction, Manufacturing, and Information. Together, these industries shed 1,000 jobs over the month. While the Accommodation and Food Services sector grew by 700 jobs over the month, growing by 0.4%, this sector typically grows by 1.7% over this period. This sector is down by 5.0% over the year.
Regionally, job losses were largely driven by a sharp decline in Transportation and Warehousing employment, which shed 4,200 jobs in March, a 2.1% decrease. While seasonal losses are typical for this sector, averaging around 2,900 jobs during this time frame, the 2025 losses exceed the historical norm, signaling a more substantial contraction than usual. These losses were primarily due to the Warehousing and Storage and Couriers and Messengers subsectors, which saw a 2.1% and 5.7% decrease, respectively.
The Construction sector contracted by 700 jobs in March 2025 (a 0.6% decrease), despite typically gaining around 200 jobs during this period. These losses were primarily in the Specialty Trade Contractor subsector, which shed 600 jobs. This subsector includes companies specializing in specific construction activities, such as plumbing, electrical work, site preparation, and concrete pouring, rather than those overseeing entire projects.
On a positive note, six sectors saw job increases from February to March 2025, including Accommodation and Food services, Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation, Government, Health Care and Social Assistance, Other Services, and Private Educational Services, adding a combined total of 5,100 jobs to the region. However, despite the job growth in these sectors over the month, job gains in each sector were below the typical increases observed over the past four years.
JOBS LOSSES IN TRANSPORTATION & WAREHOUSING CONTINUE, DESPITE REGIONAL GROWTH
The Transportation and Warehousing industry sector saw job losses for the third straight month in 2025. While this sector has added more than 42,000 jobs over the last five years, driving regional job growth, recent job losses may indicate that this sector may not be a reliable source of growth in the future. Despite these losses in a key sector, the regional labor force grew by 16,000 people, indicating that residents are finding employment opportunities.
More time and information are needed to come to broad conclusions, but it appears that the region may be undergoing a realignment in its industry sectors. For example, while the Transportation and Warehousing sectors experienced modest growth over the year at 0.7%, Private Educational Services and Health Care and Social Assistance sectors saw significant growth over this period, growing by 6.5% and 5.2% respectively.
The Transportation and Warehousing sector’s job losses in recent months have largely driven a net job loss for the region in 2025, as no other industry (or industries) have added enough jobs to close the gap. Despite these recent declines in nonfarm jobs, the region is still up 3,700 jobs over the year, an increase of 0.2%. The growth in the labor force and the decline in unemployment demonstrate that residents continue to find employment opportunities in the region, seeing promise in the Inland Empire-Desert region’s economic outlook. While it remains to be seen what industry sectors will drive regional employment growth moving forward, the region’s labor force appears to be eager to work and support the region as it changes and grows.
Inland Economic Growth & Opportunity
Matthew Mena, IEGO’s Executive Director, was recently interviewed by KVCR to discuss this release of regional labor market information and how it impacts the local economy. The interview can be viewed at the link here.
To learn more about this data or IEGO’s Labor Market Research, please email
researchrequest@iegocollaborative.org
