Santa Clara County’s booming job market surged to a new pinnacle during May and now boasts a record number of jobs, leading Bay Area employment growth last month, according to a state labor report released June 17.

The South Bay gained 5,800 jobs while the Bay Area, primarily because of job losses in the San Francisco-San Mateo region, gained 3,400 jobs during May, the state Employment Development Department reported.

“This is very impressive job growth for Santa Clara County,” said Christopher Thornberg, a founding partner and economist with Beacon Economics.

The new heights for the South Bay economy mean that the region has now recaptured all of jobs it lost during the meltdown after the dot-com boom.

The previous high for total nonfarm payroll jobs in Santa Clara County was achieved in December 2000, at the height of the tech bubble. Santa Clara County in May had 1,076,500 jobs, which was 2,600 more than the prior all-time high.

The East Bay gained 400 jobs during May, the state Employment Development Department said.

The San Francisco-San Mateo region lost 2,200 jobs, according to EDD figures that were analyzed by Beacon Economics.

The technology sector was the primary driver of the South Bay’s job gains in May. Tech companies added 3,300 jobs and the hotel and restaurant industry gained 400 jobs, according to an analysis of the EDD report that was compiled by Beacon Economics.

In the East Bay, the construction industry and the retail sector provided the primary gains for the month, and each added 700 jobs. The major areas of weakness were the hotel and restaurant industry, which lost 600 jobs, and the manufacturing sector, which lost 500, the Beacon analysis shows.

The San Francisco-San Mateo metro area suffered declines in multiple industries, including 1,300 construction jobs and 1,100 technology jobs. Health care was a sector of strength, and added 1,500 jobs.

California gained 15,200 jobs and the statewide unemployment rate improved to 5.2 percent in May, the EDD reported. The May rate was down from 5.3 percent in April and from 6.4 percent in May 2015.

“At some point, it’s expected that job growth will slow, but the Bay Area still has its mojo,” said Stephen Levy, director of the Palo Alto-based Center for Continuing Study of the California Economy.