Los Angeles unemployment rate holds at 5.2% in July as hiring cools after summer event surge

Los Angeles County’s unemployment rate was 5.2% in July, unchanged from May and slightly lower than the 5.3% recorded in June, according to the California Employment Development Department’s latest employment report released Aug. 21. Despite the stable unemployment rate, payroll employment weakened during the month. Total nonfarm employment fell by 40,700 jobs from June to July, ending the month at 4.58 million positions. Much of the decline was driven by seasonal reductions in education-related employment and government payrolls.