State unemployment stays up

California’s unemployment rate remained high in May despite the addition of 141,600 jobs, the result of the state economy’s gradual reopening.

The jobless rate last month was 16.3 percent, essentially unchanged from the revised 16.4 percent for April, the state Employment Development Department reported.

California’s unemployment rate in May, 2019 was 4.1 percent.

More than 2.4 million California residents lost their jobs in April alone because of the Coronavirus pandemic, which has claimed 451,000 lives worldwide, according to the World Health Organization.

During the Great Recession of 10 years ago, the state’s unemployment peaked at 12.3 percent, according to the department.