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Happy Labor Day! California is the #1 for state for workers, #1 economy in the nation

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Sep 7, 2026

Happy Labor Day! California is the #1 for state for workers, #1 economy in the nation

What you need to know: California continues supporting working families, with higher pay, more jobs, and a stronger economy. From raising minimum wages to protecting workers' rights, Governor Newsom's leadership has helped California set the pace for the rest of the nation in supporting working people.

SACRAMENTO – California's economy continues to dominate as the 4th largest economy in the world and the #1 in the nation, and this year, again, was ranked as the #1 state for workers in the nation. This Labor Day, Governor Gavin Newsom celebrated the Californians – and workers all across the nation who make our communities, businesses, and families stronger.

Thank you to every worker who powers our economy, our state, and our progress. California is stronger because of you. From protecting labor rights to raising the minimum wage — we will continue to stand alongside workers and ensure that the Golden State remains the best state for families to work and thrive.

Governor Gavin Newsom

Since 2019, Governor Newsom has expanded working people's labor protections, rights, and wages and continues to stand with the working Californians powering the future of industry and innovation.

"California's workforce is demonstrating resilience and momentum," said Stewart Knox, Secretary of the Labor & Workforce Development Agency. "Workers across the state are gaining access to better jobs, stronger wages, and clearer career pathways. This Labor Day, we reflect on our progress, but we do not rest on our laurels. We double down on our commitment to support equitable growth and opportunity."

Governor Newsom's support of labor unions, working families and economic development has made California a top place to open a business and a top place for workers.

Here's how California is supporting workers

✅ Ensuring pay is keeping up with national inflation. Average weekly wages rose 2.7% over the year to $1,986 in the first quarter of 2026, about 20% above the national average of $1,654.

✅ Giving workers a stronger share in the state's growth. Next year, workers making minimum wage will earn at least $17.40, under a state law that adjusts wages annually to keep pace with inflation. While the federal minimum wage has remained unchanged for nearly two decades, California is continuing to raise the floor for working people and protect their purchasing power.

✅ Protecting workers from exploitation: Thanks to a law signed by Governor Newsom, intentional theft of wages, benefits, or compensation over certain amounts is now punishable as grand theft. The Governor ended a decades old unfair pay practice of piece-rate compensation for California garment industry workers, requiring the garment industry to pay California workers an hourly wage.

✅ Ensuring health care workers get a living wage: This year, healthcare workers' minimum wage increased to $25 through Governor Newsom's first-in-the-nation healthcare minimum wage law, raising the wages for over 500,000 healthcare workers.

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✅ Protecting workers with disabilities: In 2025, legislation Governor Newsom signed in 2021 fully took effect, prohibiting employers from paying workers with disabilities less than the state minimum wage, phasing out certificate programs that permit subminimum wages for Californians with disabilities.

Supporting workers and their right to organize

✅ Protecting the right to unionize. Recently, California became home to the world's largest union of gig drivers, thanks to historic legislation championed by Governor Gavin Newsom and the Legislature last year that provided a pathway to unionization for rideshare workers. In 2019, the Governor signed legislation giving child care workers the right to join a union and collectively bargain with the state.

✅ Creating pathways to high-demand jobs: During the Newsom administration, 1 in 30 Californians in the workforce have completed earn-and-learn apprenticeship, or 674,735 earn-and-learn opportunities statewide, surpassing the goal of creating 500,000 earn-and-learn apprenticeships by 2029.

✅ Requiring employers to provide in-language wildfire smoke training for farmworkers and expanded farmworkers access to the state's personal protective equipment (PPE) stockpile. Also, specified that wildfire smoke events are among health emergencies that require California to mobilize PPE distribution.

✅ Signing nation-leading transparency measures for warehousing companies to disclose production quota descriptions to their workers and prohibiting the use of algorithms that disrupt rest periods, bathroom breaks or compliance with health and safety laws.

✅ Expanding leave for workers and families: Governor Newsom signed legislation giving workers new access to at least five days of paid sick leave each year. The Governor also increased paid family leave from 6 to 8 weeks for parents of newborn children, and put paid family leave in reach of more lower-wage workers by increasing the wage replacement for State Disability Insurance — enabling workers to take paid sick leave or unpaid family leave in order to care for any person designated by the employee, including non-family members.

World-leading economy

Since Governor Newsom took office, California's annual GDP has grown by more than $1.18 trillion, reaching $4.25 trillion in 2025. First-quarter 2026 economic output reached an annualized $4.4 trillion, following annual GDP gains exceeding $200 billion in each of the previous two years.

✅ California is the single largest contributor to national productivity growth and accounts for roughly 14% of total U.S. economic output, despite representing just 12% of the nation's population.

✅ California is the small business capital of the country. The state has more businesses than any other state, including Florida and Texas, and 99.8% are small businesses, more than 4.3 million in total, employing 7.6 million Californians and powering communities across the state.

✅ Through July 2026, California accounted for more than one in seven new jobs in the nation this year. The Golden State has contributed 15 percent of the nation's overall job growth since the beginning of the year. From the first quarter of 2025 to the first quarter of 2026, California employers added approximately 131,534 jobs — more than any other state during the same period.

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And the Employment Development Department (EDD) announced that California accounted for one third of all new jobs in the U.S. over the last 12 months over the past year, far exceeding the state's share of the national labor force.

In the first quarter of 2026, California's economy grew at a 3.7% annualized pace — its best quarterly growth ranking since 2013 and one of the fastest growth rates in the nation and well above U.S. growth of 2.1%. Meanwhile, Texas grew 0.9% and Florida 1.6% during the same period.

As the world's fourth largest economy, California continues to lead the nation where it matters most — creating new businesses, attracting venture capital, driving technological innovation, expanding advanced manufacturing, growing high-tech industries, and producing more than any other state. In fact, The Golden State continues to be: #1 state for new business starts, #1 state for high-tech business, #1 state for agriculture, #1 state for venture capital.

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