California topped the nation for highest unemployment rate for the second month in a row, recording a rate of 5.5% in Governor Gavin Newsom’s failed state.
This is up .1% from last month’s data, which reportedly showed that California was tied for the highest unemployment rate in June 2025.
Like the previous month, the dismal numbers are in part due to widespread tech layoffs and the use of artificial intelligence in the Bay Area.
“The change is rooted in the ongoing slowdown in the tech sector, the high costs of living, and local and state employment policies that make hiring more costly than other parts of the state,” former head of the state Employment Development Department Michael Bernick said last month.
“It’s brutal out there,” Bernick said, pointing to the decline in San Francisco tech jobs this month.
Per the San Francisco Chronicle:
California’s unemployment rate rose to 5.5% in July, the highest among U.S. states, as tech and other office jobs showed more weakness and hiring remained sluggish, according to state data released Friday.
The state added a net 15,000 jobs, pushing the unemployment rate up 0.1 percentage points from June to the highest rate since December. California’s rate was higher than the national unemployment rate of 4.2% in July.
California’s trade, transportation and utilities sector saw a net gain of 1,300 jobs statewide in July compared to June, while manufacturing was up by 300 jobs, though it’s lost 32,500 jobs since July 2024.
Two areas of strength in California’s economy are the health care sector — which along with private education added 23,100 jobs statewide in July — and perhaps surprisingly, government, which added 7,200 jobs.
Much like the Biden Administration’s job growth, as noted in the report, the government was an area of strength in California’s economy.
As National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett told The Gateway Pundit last month, responding to Democrats’ criticism of the better-than-expected Q2 GDP data, under Joe Biden, “almost all of the growth in jobs was for government employees, and almost all of the growth in GDP was for government spending.”
So, if it weren’t for California’s growing government and public sector workforce, its unemployment numbers would likely be even higher.
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