Bakersfield, California Unemployment

The BLS reported that the unemployment rate for Bakersfield rose 0.4 percentage points in May 2020 to 18.6%. For the same month, the metro unemployment rate was 2.2 percentage points higher than the California rate. The unemployment rate for Bakersfield in May 2020 is at a new high. You can also compare Bakersfield unemployment with unemployment in other cities.

Unemployment Rate	May 2020	Month/Month	Year/Year
National	13.3%	-1.4	+9.7
California	16.4%	0.0	+12.3
Bakersfield	18.6%	+0.4	+10.7

Note: Metro level data is now seasonally adjusted.¹ All comparisons are made with May 2020 data as June metro level unemployment data has not yet been released.

Unemployment Rate: Bakersfield, California, National

Note: Recessions shown in gray.

Bakersfield, California Unemployed

The number of people unemployed in Bakersfield in May 2020 is at a new high of 68,023. Bakersfield employment and jobs data (including jobs lost/gained in Bakersfield, California) is also available.

Unemployed Persons	May 2020	Month/Month	Year/Year
Bakersfield	68,023	+455	+37,250

Number of Unemployed Persons

Bakersfield, California Unemployment History

Date	National Unemployment Rate	California Unemployment Rate	Bakersfield Unemployment Rate	Bakersfield Unemployed
June 2020	11.1%	14.9%	—	—
May 2020	13.3%	16.4%	18.6%	68,023
April 2020	14.7%	16.4%	18.2%	67,568
March 2020	4.4%	5.5%	10.3%	40,830
February 2020	3.5%	3.9%	7.5%	29,561
January 2020	3.6%	3.9%	7.4%	29,267
December 2019	3.5%	3.9%	7.2%	28,420
November 2019	3.5%	3.9%	7.3%	28,933
October 2019	3.6%	3.9%	7.5%	29,455
September 2019	3.5%	3.9%	7.6%	29,972
August 2019	3.7%	3.9%	7.7%	30,388
July 2019	3.7%	4.0%	7.8%	30,638