California’s suddenly improving economy banished two months of catastrophic declines in its employment market linked to the coronavirus and muscled up for a huge gain in jobs during May, government officials reported Friday.
The statewide job market gained 141,600 jobs during May, according to seasonally adjusted figures released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
California’s unemployment rate eased off a historic high and improved to 16.3 percent in May, down from 16.4 percent in April, the federal agency reported.
The upswing included the battered leisure and hospitality sector, which consists of jobs in the hotel, restaurant, arts, and entertainment industries. Leisure and hospitality employment jumped by 64,800, accounting for 46 percent — nearly half — of the gains in California.
The United States economy in May added 2.5 million jobs, a rebound that stunned prognosticators who had predicted a loss of 8 million jobs that month.
The gain of 141,600 jobs in California during May contrasts starkly with a loss of 2.4 million jobs statewide during April.
The rebound could indicate that the California job market is beginning to recover from the economic fallout induced by the coronavirus.
April marked the peak of business shutdowns ordered by state and local government officials to combat the spread of the deadly bug.
