California added 558,200 jobs from May to June, and the state unemployment rate fell to 14.9 percent during that time, according to data released Friday.
Leisure and hospitality added the most jobs, at 292,500, the result of bars and dine-in restaurants reopening statewide, the California Employment Development Department reported.
Construction jobs had the highest percentage gain, clawing back 68% of jobs lost during the pandemic. Government 36,300 jobs, the most of any sector.
This month’s numbers did not include the nationwide resurgence in COVID-19 that began in June or the state’s plans shut down the economy for a second time.
The Inland Empire recorded a 14.3 percent unemployment rate in June down 0.8 percent from May, according to the department.