California lost an estimated 447,000 private-sector jobs between May and September after federal immigration enforcement intensified, according to a new report by the UC Merced Community and Labor Center that links the decline to heightened enforcement actions across the state.
Using U.S. Census Bureau data, researchers found private-sector employment fell by nearly 2.9% over the four-month period, a drop that unfolded rapidly after enforcement activity increased in early summer. The report compares the scale of the losses to those seen during the Great Recession and the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic.
