California staffing and recruitment for non-IT roles
Optihire Staffing recruits non-IT staff for California employers: warehouse and port-side logistics teams, kitchens and hotels, plant crews, electricians and the office and customer service staff that keep a site running. You work with one recruiter and pay a fee only if you hire a candidate we introduced.
California sets more of its own employment rules than most states. The minimum wage is $16.90 an hour for all employers in 2026, Cal/OSHA runs workplace safety, and paid sick leave and an outdoor heat standard apply on top. We build those into the pay and schedule we describe to candidates.
Contingency Recruitment
You pay a recruitment fee only when a successful candidate is hired, subject to agreed terms.
California jobs by sector
Payroll jobs in the sectors we recruit for, in thousands (September 2026, preliminary, seasonally adjusted). Sales, office and customer service roles sit inside almost every sector, so they have no row of their own.
- The Port of Los Angeles, a department of the City of Los Angeles, calls itself the busiest seaport in the Western Hemisphere. Source: Port of Los Angeles
| Sector | Jobs (thousands) |
|---|---|
| Trade, transportation and utilities | 3,062.8 |
| Leisure and hospitality | 2,041 |
| Manufacturing | 1,199.8 |
| Construction | 883.8 |
| All nonfarm jobs | 18,151.6 |
Where we recruit most in California
More than three million payroll jobs sit in trade, transportation and utilities here. For warehouse workers and forklift operators in outdoor yards and docks, we ask candidates about work in heat, since Cal/OSHA requires water, shade and heat procedures.
Hospitality is California's second-largest sector in our table. We screen line cooks on station experience and covers per shift, and front desk agents on the hotel systems they know and how they handle a difficult guest.
Plants compete with warehouses for the same hourly workers. We screen production operators and machine operators on the equipment they have run and the shifts they can commit to, and we tell them the full pay picture up front.
Electrical contractors hold a C-10 license from the Contractors State License Board, and electricians who work for them must be certified through the Department of Industrial Relations. We ask electricians for their certification before we submit them.
Roles we fill in California
Each guide covers what the job involves, what to screen for and the interview questions worth asking.
Hiring rules to know in California
General information checked against official sources on 2026-11-11, not legal advice. Rules change, so confirm with the linked agency or your own counsel before you act. See our editorial standards.
Minimum wage
The statewide minimum wage is $16.90 an hour for all employers from January 1, 2026. The rate is adjusted for inflation each year.
Paid sick leave
Employers must provide at least 40 hours or five days of paid sick leave a year.
Outdoor heat
Cal/OSHA's outdoor heat standard requires drinking water near the work, shade when the temperature exceeds 80°F, and high-heat procedures at 95°F or above.
Electrician certification
Electricians who work for a contractor with a C-10 electrical license must be certified by the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement.
New hire reporting
Report new and rehired employees to the EDD New Employee Registry within 20 calendar days of their start-of-work date.
Workplace safety
California runs its own OSHA-approved State Plan, Cal/OSHA, which covers most private-sector workers.
Hiring in California?
Tell us the role, the site location, the shift and the pay range. You pay a recruitment fee only when a successful candidate is hired, subject to agreed terms.
Hiring in more than one state? See every state hiring guide or read how we screen candidates.