NewsCalifornia News

Actions

California unemployment rate dips as employers add new jobs

California Jobs
Posted at 2:59 PM, Jun 18, 2021
and last updated 2021-06-18 17:59:07-04

California employers added more than 100,000 jobs in May for the fourth month in a row. Numbers released Friday by the Employment Development Department (EDD) show California has regained more than half of the 2.7 million jobs it lost at the start of the pandemic.

Of the 1.4 million jobs California has regained since last year, a third of them have come from the leisure and hospitality industry.

The unemployment rate dipped slightly to 7.9% from 8% in April. It’s still one of the highest unemployment rates in the nation. Officials say there's a long way to go despite the job gains in the past few months.

In San Luis Obispo County, the unemployment rate in May was 5.2%, down from 5.5% in April, according to the EDD. In May 2020, it was 13.1%.

The unemployment rate in Santa Barbara County was 5.4% in May, down from 5.9% in April. It was 12.4% in May 2020.