California and Southern California’s job markets are struggling with stagnant unemployment rates and slowing job growth, moving in stark contrast to the relatively robust national employment landscape, raising concerns.According to the California Employment Development Department (EDD) on June 27, California’s unemployment rate in May 2025 remained steady at 5.3%, unchanged from the final figure for April.

This is 0.1 percentage points higher than the 5.2% recorded in May 2024.California’s 5.3% unemployment rate is 1.1 percentage points higher than the national rate of 4.2% for May. It ranks as the second-highest in the nation, trailing only Nevada’s 5.5%. During the COVID-19 pandemic, California’s unemployment rate soared to a record 16.1% in April 2020, later dropping to about a third of that level, but recent trends show a worsening situation.In May 2025, California’s non-farm sector jobs totaled 18,023,200, an increase of 17,700 from April’s 18,005,500.

After two months of consecutive growth in February and March, job growth slowed in April and May.However, employment experts note that for a job market as large as California’s, with over 18 million jobs, this growth is significantly underwhelming.The EDD reported that since economic recovery began in April 2020, California has added 3,103,400 jobs through May 2025, averaging 50,875 jobs per month.

However, from May 2024 to May 2025, non-farm sector job growth was limited to 92,900 new jobs. The EDD’s May industry analysis showed job growth in six of 11 major sectors compared to the previous month. The education and healthcare sector led with 10,400 new jobs, followed by leisure and hospitality (9,000), information and communication (2,600), government and public sector (1,500), other services (1,400), and trade and transportation (1,000).In May, California had 1,057,900 unemployed individuals, up 2,500 from April and 31,800 from May 2024. Unemployment insurance (UI) recipients totaled 384,749, down 17,255 from April but up 4,794 from May 2024. New UI claims in May reached 41,236, down 986 from April but up 2,343 from May 2024.Southern California’s Los Angeles County and Orange County also face high unemployment rates.

Los Angeles County’s unemployment rate in May was 5.8%, unchanged from April’s final figure but 0.1 percentage points higher than the 5.7% in May 2024. Non-farm jobs in LA County increased by 13,800 from April, reaching 4,611,000. The number of unemployed individuals dropped by 2,000 to 294,000.Orange County’s unemployment rate in May was 3.6%, down 0.1 percentage points from April’s 3.7% but 0.3 percentage points higher than the 3.3% in May 2024. Non-farm jobs in Orange County grew by 5,700, reaching 1,696,300.Nationally, the unemployment rate in May 2025 was 4.2%, unchanged from April but 0.2 percentage points higher than the 4.0% in May 2024.

By Hwandong Cho, Reporter