The Bay Area added jobs during July — but the pace at which the region gained employment slowed significantly from recent months, state labor officials reported Friday.
The nine-county region gained 3,900 jobs in July, an improvement that was fueled primarily by a robust upswing in the East Bay and the South Bay, according to the new report posted by the state Employment Development Department.
The East Bay added 2,900 jobs while the South Bay gained 2,100 positions. The San Francisco-San Mateo region, however, lost 2,000 jobs. All of the numbers were adjusted for seasonal volatility.
The South Bay has now added jobs for 30 consecutive months, gaining positions even through the worst of the numerous rounds of tech layoffs that have hounded the Bay Area since early 2022. The last time the South Bay lost jobs was in January 2021.
California added 27,900 jobs in July, the report stated. The statewide unemployment rate was 4.6%, which was unchanged from June. However, the current California jobless rate is well above the record low levels that the state achieved in 2022.
Over the most recent one-year period that ended in July, California’s job totals have increased by 2%, but that lags the annual increase for the Bay Area and its three major urban centers.
Job totals over the last 12 months have increased by 2.5% in the Bay Area, 2.8% in the San Francisco-San Mateo region, 2.5% in the South Bay and 2.4% in the East Bay, the EDD reported.