California’s July Jobless Rate Holds While Mother Lode’s Ticks Up

Sonora, CA – While the July unemployment rate for the state held steady, the Mother Lode’s figures climbed slightly.

California’s jobless rate remained at 5.2 percent unchanged from May, marking the third consecutive month with 21,100 jobs added last month, according to a recently released Employment Development Department (EDD) report. Governor Gavin Newsom touted the numbers, noting that they equal nearly 1 out of every 5 jobs added in the nation last month.

“Our steady, consistent job growth in recent months highlights the strength of California’s economy – still the 5th largest in the entire world. Just this year, the state has created 126,500 jobs – solid growth by any measure,” touted Newsom.

The Mother Lode did not follow the state’s trend, and instead, Tuolumne County’s rate climbed from 5.3% in June to 5.7% last month. Calaveras County’s also inched up from 4.4% to 4.9%, respectively.

Four of the state’s 11 industry sectors added jobs, the fourth consecutive month of growth. The largest increases were in government and education, at 19,200 and 12,300, respectively. Leisure and hospitality added 1,800 new jobs in July, which is the highest-ever number of fast-food jobs in California history, according to Newsom. The largest job loss was in the trade, transportation, and utilities sectors at -4,300. However, that sector has still posted an estimated 5,400 year-over-year job gains in comparison with July 2023, according to EDD officials.

The unemployment rate rose for the fourth consecutive month for the nation, coming in at 4.3 percent in July from 4.1% in June.