California’s new jobs numbers came out on Friday, and they paint a mixed picture.

On the one hand, California led the nation in the number of jobs created in August, at 39,400.

On the other hand, California has the highest unemployment rate of any state, at 5.1%. And 50,500 Californians stopped looking for work altogether.

Ours is a tale of two states.

One California is wealthy and connected to opportunities in high-tech industries, or in health care.

The other California is struggling to make ends meet, and watching opportunities disappear.

That’s the California that is missing out on America’s working-class boom.

Despite all the doomsayers, the U.S. economy is as strong as it has ever been, even if prices are too high.

The stock market has soared this year, despite war in Iran, and inflation fears.

Nationwide, unemployment is very low, at 4.1%, a full percentage point lower than California.

The Wall Street Journal recently wrote: “Americans Without College Degrees Are Having One of the Best Job Markets in Years.”

It’s true that California’s economy is growing faster than the rest of the country. But California’s growth is narrow — led by a few high-tech industries. 

And nationwide, growth is picking up. The Atlanta Fed predicts a staggering 5.1% growth rate for the third quarter.

This week, the U.S. Census Bureau revealed that the U.S. poverty rate hit an all-time low of 10.2%. California’s rate is the same. 

But when you factor in the cost of living, the national “supplemental” poverty rate is 13%. California’s supplemental poverty rate is 17.8% — among the highest.

Newsom has been attacking President Donald Trump over gas prices, blaming the Iran war. But California’s average gas price of $6.11 is $1.64 more expensive than the national average of $4.47, as of Friday.

That’s because of all the “green” policies Newsom likes: cap-and-trade (now “cap and invest”), special fuel blends, high gas taxes, and heavy regulation of refineries.

California chose to import oil from the Middle East instead of producing it at home. Meanwhile, the rest of America is producing energy in abundance.

America is having a working-class revival. California is having the opposite.

California works if you are rich enough to invest, and if you work in a few highly specialized fields. It also works if you are poor and eligible for the state’s generous welfare programs.

It does not work for the middle- and working-class, who are struggling to get by.

Say what you will about Trump: He delivered for the ordinary American.

Newsom, across two terms, has not delivered for the ordinary Californian. 

That legacy will haunt him on the presidential campaign trail. And it is something the next California governor must turn around.

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