Our initial analysis of the May Employment Report from the California Employment Development Department is abbreviated again this month as the full data we usually incorporate will not be released by US Bureau of Labor Statistics until next Tuesday.  Our full report will be released then.  For additional information and data about the California economy visit www.centerforjobs.org/ca.

Both the nonfarm job and employment numbers showed positive gains in May but again at different scales.  Nonfarm jobs rose by 43,700, while the previously reported April gains were revised down by 1,100 to 4,100.  With the preliminary May results, nonfarm jobs have now averaged gains of 17,000 in the first 5 months of 2024, higher than the 6,400 average set in the same period last year and closer to the 20,800 average for the entire pre-pandemic year of 2019.

Employment gains were also positive for the second month in a row, but barely significant at a gain of only 7,500.  Compared to May 2023, employment is down by 115,500 workers.

Job gains were positive across all regions.  The Los Angeles, Central Coast, and the budget-critical Bay Area still remain below their pre-pandemic peaks.

Because the data in the table is seasonally adjusted, the numbers should be considered as the total for the counties in each region rather than the regional number.  This job series also is not available for all areas in California.

Looking at employment (not seasonally adjusted), Los Angeles was the only region to show significant gains over the year.  Bay Area was 79,800 below for the year and 213,300 below the pre-pandemic level in 2019.

Unemployment rates (not seasonally adjusted) remain higher in all regions except the rural areas compared to pre-pandemic February 2020 levels.

The estimated unemployment rates are shown below for the highest and lowest districts.  The full data and methodology are available on the Center’s website.