THE IE LABOR MARKET PULSE
Monthly Analysis and Insights on the Latest Riverside and San Bernardino Jobs Data
July 21, 2025
UNEMPLOYMENT RATE JUMPS HIGHER; LABOR FORCE INCREASES BY 700
The Inland Empire’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for June 2025 was 5.3%, reflecting a sizeable 0.6% increase from the previous month. The California unemployment rate saw a 0.1% increase from 5.2% to 5.3% in June 2025, while USA unemployment rate saw a 0.1% decrease from 4.2% to 4.1% during the same period. Additionally, the Inland Empire reported a net loss of 100 jobs compared to the prior month, a significant decrease from the previous month’s gains (+4,600 jobs).
Construction (+1,700 jobs), Government (+1,100 jobs), and Accommodation & Food Services (+1,100 jobs) saw the largest job gains in industries across the region in June 2025. Administrative and Support and Waste and Remediation Services (-2,100 jobs), Private Educational Services (-900 jobs), and Transportation & Warehousing (-900 jobs) experienced the largest job losses across all industries. Transportation and Warehousing saw a larger decline (-900 jobs) as compared to those reported in May (-100 jobs), and this is the sixth straight month with declines in this sector. Last month, 700 individuals joined the labor force—increasing the total civilian labor force in Riverside and San Bernardino to 2.232 million people.
INLAND EMPIRE JOBS FLAT ACROSS MOST SECTORS
The latest employment data from the California Labor Market Information Division (LMID) shows that the region shed 100 nonfarm jobs between May and June 2025—a less than 0.1% decrease in employment. This decrease is less severe than the four-year average, in which the region typically declines by 0.3%, shedding 4,675 jobs during the same period. The relatively flat employment numbers are a result of six sectors gaining jobs, six sectors losing jobs, and seven sectors experiencing no change in job counts.
Figure 1 displays the sectors that gained and lost the most jobs from May to June 2025. The Construction sector grew by 1.5% over the month, adding 1,700 jobs. While the Administrative and Support and Waste and Remediation Services experienced the greatest drawdown in jobs between May and June, the Private Educational Services sector had the most significant percent change in jobs, shrinking by 3.3% or 900 jobs. The top three sectors adding jobs over the month gained the same number of jobs lost by the sectors that lost the most jobs over the month.
Figure 1: Monthly Job Gains, by Growing Industry Sector, Inland Empire-Desert Region, June 2025
Source: CA EDD LMID, Industry Employment June 2025
In June 2025, the Construction sector exceeded historical job growth trends, adding 1,700 jobs over the month, minimizing the year-over-year loss to 5,200 jobs. While the Government sector typically sheds nearly 1,000 jobs between May and June, the sector added 1,100 jobs between May and June 2025, growing by 0.4%. The Government sector is up 11,600 jobs over the year, representing 4.1% growth. The Accommodation and Food Services sector, which typically experiences flat employment between May and June, added 1,100 jobs over the month, recovering nearly a third of the jobs lost over the year.
The Administrative and Support and Waste and Remediation Services sector shed 2,100 jobs between May and June, nearly double the typical drawdown for this sector over this period. While the Private Educational Services sector decreased by 900 jobs over the month, the loss was less than the 1,600 jobs typically shed between May and June. The Transportation and Warehousing sector lost 900 jobs over the month, despite typically gaining approximately 100 jobs over this period during the last four years. The Transportation and Warehousing sector is up only 200 jobs since June 2024, following consistent job losses in 2025.
Aside from the sectors listed above, three have deviated from historical patterns typically seen between May and June over the last four years. The Health Care and Social Assistance sector grew by 0.1%, adding 300 jobs between May and June, despite typically shedding nearly 200 jobs over this period during the last four years. The Health Care and Social Assistance sector has grown by 5.4%, adding 15,800 jobs over the year. While the Manufacturing sector typically decreases by 100 jobs between May and June, the sector added 100 jobs over the month. The Retail Trade sector gained 200 jobs over the month, despite typically declining by 100 jobs over the last four years.
PORT TRAFFIC HEADWINDS & IMPACTS ON REGIONAL TRANSPORTATION AND WAREHOUSING
Port traffic information may provide context and serve as a leading indicator of the regional transportation and warehousing sector, aside from industry employment information. The Port of Long Beach reported a 16.4% decrease in port traffic from June 2024 to June 2025.1 However, the Port of Los Angeles experienced a 7.8% increase in port traffic over the year2, reaching its highest activity in the port’s history3. The Port of LA Executive Director, Gene Seroka, posits that the recent spike in port traffic is a result of businesses seeking to get ahead of the August deadline for tariff negotiations with China4.
Despite the recent increase in Port of Los Angeles traffic, the combined traffic of both ports is down 4.6% compared to June 2024. While the regional Transportation and Warehousing sector has historically been a driver of regional job growth, it shed 26,200 jobs in 2025. With lingering uncertainty regarding international relations, it remains to be seen what policies may reverse the trend experienced by the Transportation and Warehousing sector in 2025.
NATIONAL REPORTING: BLS DATA VS PRIVATE INDUSTRY REPORTS
Switching to national topics briefly, some readers may have seen news stories about a private industry report from ADP, a large human resources management software and service company, called the ADP National Employment Report. 5 ADP releases their report each month, just days before the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) releases the monthly national employment data for the same time period. ADP’s report was widely reported by news organizations earlier in the month because, for June 2025, it showed that private industry employment across the country shrank by 33,000. While the BLS reporting, released days later, showed the total number of jobs across the country grew by 147,000. The wide disparity between these two numbers was also a topic of discussion in reporting from news organizations. Given that context, let’s discuss why there are differences between these two data sources and why this newsletter continues to use BLS data for regional reporting on topics like industry figures and unemployment rate.
There are several reasons why the two reports show different figures, but two key differences lie in their scope and methodology. The ADP report focuses exclusively on private sector employment and intentionally excludes government jobs – yet government has been one of the main drivers of job growth in recent months. Also, the ADP report projections are based primarily on its own customers’ data, while the BLS uses household data and payroll tax from its federal agency partners. While ADP has a large market share in the US, it cannot match the size and scale of the federal government’s data collection apparatus, and it is for that reason that federal, state, and local government agencies use BLS’s data for their needs in labor market analysis. Additionally, the ADP report does not provide data at the regional level, such as the Inland Empire-Desert region. For these reasons, this newsletter and other IEGO reports rely primarily on BLS data as the foundation for labor market analysis, rather than private data sources like the ADP National Employment Report. However, the IEGO team continually monitors a wide range of data sources to ensure the information shared with readers remains accurate and regionally relevant.
SLIGHT JOB CONTRACTION AMID SLIGHT LABOR FORCE GROWTH
The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate ticked up by 0.6% over the month to 5.3%. While the labor force grew by 700 individuals over the month, the growth was driven by a 24,700 increase in unemployed individuals and a 23,900 decrease in employed individuals. The number of individuals seeking employment opportunities grew by 22.9% over the month, which is not a positive indicator for the regional economy.
Despite losing 100 nonfarm jobs over the month, the region typically sheds 4,675 jobs between May and June, indicating this month’s job losses were less severe than typically experienced during this period. The Accommodation and Food Services and Construction sectors grew by 0.7% and 1.5% over the month, respectively, minimizing the losses incurred by these industries over the year. The jobs and employment information indicates that the region may be at an inflection point, at which an increasing number of job seekers are looking towards a fixed number of jobs for employment opportunities.
June’s data confirms what we’ve seen over the last six months — the Inland Empire’s economy is holding steady, but the gains remain uneven. That’s why IEGO is doubling down on strategies that drive inclusive growth, support quality jobs, and deliver results for working families across the region.
Sources
- Port of Long Beach Port. (June 2025). Latest Statistics. Retrieved from: https://polb.com/business/port-statistics/#latest-statistics
- Port of Los Angeles. (June 2025). Container Statistics. Retrieved from: https://www.portoflosangeles.org/business/statistics/container-statistics
- LaRocca, Lori Ann. (July 2025). Port of Los Angeles sees record container traffic as shippers race to beat Trump’s tariff deadlines. CNBC. Retrieved from: https://www.cnbc.com/2025/07/14/port-of-los-angeles-record-container-traffic-trade-war-shipping-tariffs.html
- Ibid.
- ADP Research. (July 2025). ADP® National Employment Report. Retrieved from: https://adpemploymentreport.com/
To learn more about this data or IEGO’s Labor Market Research, please email researchrequest@iegocollaborative.org
