The Bay Area managed tiny job gains in October but California employers slashed thousands of jobs last month, disquieting hints that the regional and statewide job markets are sailing into choppy economic waters.
Employers in the Bay Area added 800 jobs in October, with the South Bay and the San Francisco-San Mateo region each adding several hundred jobs, but the East Bay lost thousands of jobs, the state Employment Development Department reported Friday.
Despite the upswing in Bay Area jobs in October, last month’s results were far weaker than the thousands of jobs added in the nine-county region in September, the EDD reports show.
California employers chopped 5,500 jobs in October, the state EDD reported. The numbers were adjusted for seasonal variations.
The statewide unemployment rate worsened to 5.4% in October compared with 5.3% in September. The October jobless rate was California’s highest in nearly three years.
Here is how the Bay Area’s three largest urban centers fared in October regarding jobs gained or lost. All the numbers were adjusted for seasonal volatility.
— The South Bay added 1,100 jobs in October.
— The San Francisco-San Mateo region gained 1,000 jobs.
— The East Bay lost 2,500 jobs in October.
The 5.4% unemployment rate for California was the highest level for the closely watched benchmark since December 2021, when the state was still attempting to recover from the aftermath of coronavirus-linked business shutdowns.