The Bay Area suffered fresh job losses in May as economic woes widened in the region, while California posted modest job gains last month, an unsettling new state government report shows.
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The South Bay and Sonoma County were the only two urban centers in the Bay Area that gained jobs in May, while the San Francisco metro region, East Bay, Marin County and Solano County all lost jobs. Napa County reported no change in its job totals, according to the state Employment Development Department report.
The Bay Area lost 4,900 jobs in May, a setback that means the region has lost jobs in four of the five months so far in 2025. All of the numbers in the EDD’s monthly report were adjusted for seasonal volatility.
The South Bay posted a tiny gain of 200 jobs in May. Yet that was far better than the results in the San Francisco-San Mateo region, which lost 2,700 jobs, and the East Bay, which shed 1,600 jobs last month.
So far in 2025, the Bay Area has lost 19,100 jobs, this news organization’s analysis of the EDD’s reports shows.
California managed a gain of 17,700 jobs in May. So far in 2025, California has lost 9,200 jobs, despite adding nonfarm payroll jobs in both April and May. California suffered heavy job losses in January, February and March in a grim start to the year.
The statewide unemployment rate remained unchanged at 5.3%. California’s jobless rate is one of the nation’s worst.
