Job creation in California will slow significantly over the next few months thanks to a drop in construction spending and slower national growth, according to a report released Monday from Chapman University.

The statewide index of leading employment plunged to 113 from 130 in the first quarter of the year and 140 in the second quarter of 2006, according to the report from Chapman’s A. Gary Anderson Center for Economic Research in Orange.

A reading over 100 points to positive payroll job growth over the next six months, and the index has been positive for 15 consecutive quarters. But the latest index noted a 2 percent drop in statewide construction spending, due largely to a sharp slowdown in residential construction.

The other three indicators that the research center uses to calculate the leading employment index remained positive, but showed slower growth rates. These are the national gross domestic product, real exports and the S & P; 500 stock index.