California’s unemployment rate fell to 8.6 percent in May, the lowest level since November 2008, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
That represented what the BLS termed a “statistically significant” change of -0.4 percent from April’s rate of 9 percent. The state also has seen a reduction in unemployment of -2.1 percent since May 2012, the largest drop in any state in the country.
Over the past year, California has added over a quarter-million jobs, according to the BLS.
Also, the state’s Employment Development Department reported that the following counties were among those where unemployment rates remained below the state average in May:
- Sacramento 8.0 percent
- Alameda 6.8 percent
- Contra Costa 6.7 percent
- Santa Clara 6.2 percent
- San Francisco 5.2 percent
- San Mateo 4.9 percent
- Marin 4.5 percent