California employers added 15,000 jobs in July as the statewide unemployment rate worsened, government labor officials reported Friday.

The jobless rate in California rose to 5.5% in July, up from a rate of 5.4% in June. The July figure was the highest since December, a month that also produced a 5.5% level of unemployment, the state labor agency reported.

California lost 9,500 jobs in June, according to the state Employment Development Department’s monthly labor report. The new estimate was revised downward from the original calculation by the state EDD.

California has lost jobs in four of the seven months so far in 2025.