Long Beach’s unemployment rate went unchanged in August, remaining at 5.2%, while the state’s rate increased slightly, according to data released by the California Employment Development Department.

California’s unemployment increased from 3.9% to 4.1%, state data shows. Similarly, the national unemployment rate inched up from 3.5% to 3.7%, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

“Just as the state was on the verge of recovering all the jobs lost at the outset of the pandemic, August represented a small bump in the road, with particular weakness seen in Los Angeles and San Francisco, two places that have struggled to recover their pre-pandemic footing,” Taner Osman, research manager at Beacon Economics and the Center for Economic Forecasting, said in a statement.

The Los Angeles County unemployment rate, for its part, dipped to 4.9% in August, down from 5% the month before and 5.2% in June.

“While macro headwinds are swirling, there is still enough momentum in the state’s labor market to see a full recovery of the jobs lost within the next month or two,” Osman said.

In Long Beach, the labor force decreased by 1,100 people in August to 229,300, while the number of employed people decreased by 1,000. The number of unemployed residents, however, actually decreased by 200.

The city’s unemployment remains higher than 72% of the county’s other cities and areas, according to state data. Only 25% of areas have a higher unemployment rate than Long Beach.

Three cities—Carson, Gardena and Paramount—have the same unemployment rate as Long Beach, data shows.

At the county level, the labor force fell by 28,700 people to 4,945,900, according to the EDD. The number of employed residents also decreased, falling by 21,400 people to 4,702,700.

The number of unemployed residents in the county fell by 7,400 to 243,200.

Job counts in many sectors across the state are actually exceeding pre-pandemic peaks, according to Beacon Economics, but the hardest-hit sectors such as retail and hospitality continue to struggle.

“Job gains in August were at their lowest monthly results for the year and employment saw a loss of 3,900,” the California Business Roundtable said in a statement Friday. “National and international issues are slowing our economic recovery, which is concerning because California has the 10th highest unemployment rate among all states and is only now transitioning from job recovery to job growth after the pandemic recession.”

Countywide, education and health services added the most jobs of any sector, up 4,400 in August, according to the EDD. Trade, transportation and utilities, government, construction, leisure and hospitality, and manufacturing also all grew in August.

Information and financial activities, on the other hand, declined in August, down 500 and 300, respectively, according to state data.