State unemployment up despite job gains

California employers added 54,200 non-farm jobs in May, according to data released Friday by the state Employment Development Department.

Despite that, California’s unemployment rate rose to 6.4 percent, up from 6.3 percent in April, but at least one economist said that’s no reason for concern.

“This is one of those reports where you might fail to get the meaning if you only read the headline,” said Jordan Levine, economist and director of economic research with Beacon Economics in Los Angeles. “The unemployment rate did go up, but a lot of that was because more people entered the job market.

“At this point, a slight increase in unemployment is actually a good thing.”

Last month’s unemployment rate was still well below the 7.6 percent jobless rate recorded one year ago.

The state, which has posted positive job growth nearly every month for the past four years, has now added more than 1.9 million jobs since the recovery began in February 2010, according to the development department.

The U.S. unemployment rate last month was 5.5 percent.

All data in the monthly report is based on a survey by the federal government of 5,500 California households.

Five job categories combined – construction, trade, transportation/utilities, professional/business services, education/health services, leisure/hospitality – added 62,700 jobs last month, according to the report.

Riverside and San Bernardino counties recorded unemployment rates of 6.4 percent and 6.3 percent in May, the report stated.