California powered to a record number of jobs for the second month in a row, adding a jaw-dropping half-million positions during July, as the brutalized statewide economy battled to rebound from catastrophic employment losses unleashed by the coronavirus.
Employers statewide added 558,200 jobs during July, on top of gains of 141,600 positions in June, according to figures released Friday by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
More than half of the gains in July were created in the reeling leisure and hospitality industry, which includes jobs in restaurants, hotels, drinking establishments, arts, and entertainment.
Business lockdowns ordered by state and local government agencies have bludgeoned the leisure and hospitality industries, but companies in those sectors added 292,500 positions in July, the report determined.
The California unemployment rate fell to 14.9 percent in July, a big improvement from the 16.4 percent jobless rate in June, yet still brutally high by historic norms.
