The Bay Area lost 2,000 jobs in May, but Santa Clara County rebounded from employment losses in prior months to become one of the region’s few bright spots, state labor officials reported Friday.

Santa Clara County added 1,500 jobs last month, while the East Bay lost 3,100 positions and the San Francisco-San Mateo region shed 200 jobs, the state Employment Development Department said in its monthly report on the California job market. All the numbers were adjusted for seasonal changes.

Bay Area job market soft, but not in crisis

Overall, it appears the Bay Area job market has softened significantly compared to last year. From January through May, Bay Area employers added 5,200 jobs. But those year-to-date gains are far weaker than in the first five months of 2016, when the nine-county region gained 48,000 jobs, this news organization’s analysis of the EDD figures shows.

“The Bay Area is in a job rut,” said Jon Haveman, principal economist with San Rafael-based Marin Economic Consulting.

In the first five months of 2017, Santa Clara County lost 4,400 jobs. The East Bay lost 200 jobs while the San Francisco-San Mateo region added 9,300 jobs.

In comparison, in the first five months of 2016, Santa Clara County had added 11,200 jobs, the East Bay had gained 13,200 jobs and the San Francisco-San Mateo region had added 18,600.

Despite the zigzags in the Bay Area job market so far this year, experts don’t foresee a drastic downturn for the economy in the nine-county region.

“Some people worry that we are approaching a recession, but the usual things that cause a recession are sustained shocks to the economy, and they are not in the picture right now,” said Robert Kleinhenz, an economist and executive director of research with Beacon Economics. “Sudden increases in the price of oil, spikes in interest rates aren’t happening. Inflation is low, oil prices are low. Yes, the Federal Reserve is raising interest rates, but as (Fed Chairman) Janet Yellen has said, the pace of increases is so slow that it’s like watching paint dry. There is nothing that presages some sort of recession.”

What’s more, some economists believe the Bay Area’s sluggishness amounts to no more than hiccups, temporary by definition.

“It’s a soft spot in job growth for the Bay Area,” said Stephen Levy, director of the Palo Alto-based Center for Continuing Study of the California Economy, noting Google’s recently announced plans to bring perhaps 20,000 jobs to downtown San Jose as a strong sign for the future. “This is a slow. It’s real, but it doesn’t mean a downturn. Growth will be slower than before, but the Bay Area will still outpace the nation.”

Industry trends

Santa Clara County’s tech sector was sturdy in May and added 1,900 jobs, according to seasonally adjusted numbers compiled by Beacon Economics, derived from the EDD figures.

“Tech companies are adding jobs at a steady clip, at least in Santa Clara County,” said Kleinhenz.

But the tech industry was weak last month in San Francisco-San Mateo, where it lost 300 jobs, and in the East Bay, where it shed 400 jobs.

“The tech sector, which drives a lot of the Bay Area economy, has been a bit in the doldrums for the last year,” Haveman said. “When you have a group of sectors that are driving job growth throughout a region turn sluggish, that will slow down other parts of the economy, much as we used to see with manufacturing in the Midwest.”

The hotels and restaurant business also was weak during May. That key lodging and dining segment of the leisure and hospitality industry lost 1,300 jobs in the East Bay, 700 jobs in Santa Clara County and 300 in the San Francisco-San Mateo region, Beacon determined.

The South Bay experienced strong gains of 900 jobs in educational services and 400 in construction. Besides tech, the East Bay lost 300 manufacturing jobs, but it gained 700 administrative support positions.

The strongest industry in the San Francisco-San Mateo area was health care, which added 1,000 jobs, the Beacon analysis showed.

Unemployment trends

Unemployment rates improved throughout the Bay Area’s three big metro centers, falling to levels consistent with full employment, according to seasonally adjusted estimates by Beacon Economics.

Payroll job totals and unemployment rates are culled from two different government surveys and don’t always move in the same direction.

The East Bay posted an improved 3.6 percent jobless rate in May, down from 3.8 percent in April; Santa Clara County reported a 3.2 percent unemployment rate, down from 3.3 percent; and San Francisco-San Mateo posted a 2.7 percent jobless rate, down from 2.8 percent.

California rebounds

Statewide, employers added 17,600 jobs during May, the EDD reported.

The California jobless rate improved to 4.7 percent in May, compared with 4.8 percent in April.

“California’s economy has resumed its upward trajectory in May after a temporary setback in April,” said Sung Won Sohn, an economics professor with CSU Channel Islands. “However, the overall trend is clear. The Golden State is gradually losing its wind in the sails as the tightening labor market and rising wages represent headwinds for the economy.”