Contra Costa County Unemployment Slightly Down In May

CONTRA COSTA COUNTY, CA — Contra Costa County's unemployment crept down from 14.5 percent in April to 13.6 percent in May, while California’s unemployment rate last month experienced a minimal drop to 16.3 percent as the state’s employers added 141,600 jobs, according to data released Friday by the California Employment Development Department from two surveys.

Rapidly-evolving data prompted a statistical revision to a larger than initially estimated April job loss of 2.4 million and an upward-revised unemployment rate of 16.4 percent, according to the EDD.

"April’s revisions reflect unprecedented job losses never before seen in California’s history in a current data series that dates back to 1976 that are a direct result of the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic," EDD officials said.

While the state’s unemployment rate of 16.31 percent in May was slightly lower than the record high set in April, it was still far higher than the 12.3 percent it was during the height of the Great Recession in March, October and November 2010, the EDD said.

April's revised loss of 2.4 million jobs in California since March is the biggest month-over job loss in state history, far eclipsing the Great Recession’s then record-setting, month-over loss of 132,800 jobs between December 2008 and January 2009, according to the EDD.

Nine of California’s 11 industry sectors gained jobs in May. Construction posted the largest job gain of 75,000 thanks to strength in specialty trade contractors and ongoing construction projects, while leisure and hospitality added 64,800, the second largest job gain due to growth in accommodation and food services.

Government lost 95,800 jobs — the largest drop — with state and local government jobs both experiencing substantial decreases over the month.

The agricultural industry was not far behind having lost 94,500 farm jobs since May 2019, with 18,000 of those job losses recorded just last month, bringing the state's total farm jobs to 325,600.

Contra Costa County's 13.6-percent unemployment rate in May was among the highest of the Bay Area's nine counties.

Contra Costa County has a labor force of 532,900 but at least 72,500 were without work last month, according to the state's preliminary, not seasonally adjusted figures.

Looking back one year ago, prior to coronavirus, Contra Costa County had an unemployment rate of 2.8 percent in April 2019 and 2.7 percent in May 2019.

Elsewhere in the Bay Area, Napa County’s unemployment rate in May was 14.4 percent; Solano County had a jobless rate of 14.2 percent in May; and Marin County had the Bay Area’s lowest unemployment rate in May at 10.3 percent.

In Sonoma County, the unemployment rate was 12.7 percent in May; in San Francisco County, the unemployment rate was 12.6 percent; in Santa Clara County, it was 11 percent; in Alameda County, it was 13.5 percent; and in San Mateo, it was 11.1 percent.