May Jobs Report Shows CA Still Lagging Behind Most States

While California Governor Gavin Newsom claims the state is “Roaring Back,” the most recent U.S. jobs report tells another story: California is still mewling in the 46th spot out of 51 on “unemployment bounce back.”

However, the largest job gains occurred in California at 104,500, but these are jobs recovering from Newsom’s statewide lockdown.

The U.S. unemployment rate is 5.8%, but is not nearly as bad as in April 2020, which was at a historic high of 14.7%, Fox Business reports.

California’s unemployment rate is 8.3%.

Fox Business reports that the latest jobs report from May shows the states with the best jobs numbers are the ones which reopened early or never locked down, such as South Dakota.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Hawaii had the highest unemployment rate in May, 8.1 percent. The next highest rates were in New Mexico, 8.0 percent, and California, 7.9 percent. New Hampshire had the lowest jobless rate, 2.5 percent, closely followed by Nebraska and Vermont, 2.6 percent each. In total, 27 states had unemployment rates lower than the U.S. figure of 5.8 percent, 12 states and the District of Columbia had higher rates, and 11 states had rates that were not appreciably different from that of the nation.

California’s Employment Development Department (unemployment agency) reports California is down from a high of 15.6% unemployment, to 8.3% in April, now 7.9% in May.

The BLS reports:

Nonfarm payroll employment increased in 14 states, decreased in 1 state, and was essentially unchanged in 35 states and the District of Columbia in May 2021. The largest job gains occurred in California (+104,500), Florida (+39,900), and Texas (+34,400).

“May’s unemployment rate² is nearly half of the 16% peak rate in April 2020, but is still 3.6% higher than the pre-pandemic unemployment rate of 4.3% in February 2020,” the EDD reported.

As Fox Business reported, “Many people have quit their jobs in search for better opportunities and more flexibility to work remotely. Additionally, unemployment benefits have posed another challenge to employers who are now having to compete with the government to save their struggling businesses.”

In particular, California restaurant owners are suffering from the ongoing “stimulus checks” going out to the unemployed who are earning more not working than they did when they were employed. “Unemployment benefits have posed another challenge to employers who are now having to compete with the government to save their struggling businesses,” Fox Business reported.

States With Strongest Unemployment Bounce Back

1 Vermont

2 Utah

3 Nebraska

4 South Dakota

5 Idaho

6 New Hampshire

7 Alabama

States With Slowest Unemployment Bounce Back

51 Hawaii

50 New Mexico

49 New York

48 Nevada

47 Connecticut

46 California

45 Washington D.C.

44 Louisiana

43 New Jersey

42 Illinois