California’s job expansion has continued into its 51st month, with state officials announcing that the state created 21,100 new jobs in July. Fast food jobs also continued to rise, exceeding 750,000 jobs for the first time in California history.

“Our steady, consistent job growth in recent months highlights the strength of California’s economy – still the fifth largest in the entire world. Just this year, the state has created 126,500 jobs – solid growth by any measure,” noted Governor Gavin Newsom.

With July’s data, California has now created 284,400 new jobs within the past 12 months, which is a 1.6 percent increase. The state’s unemployment rate held steady at 5.2 percent. Four of the state’s 11 industry sectors gained jobs last month.

California is home to the most Fortune 500 companies – beating out Texas, Florida, and all other states. Travel spending reached an all-time high of $150.4 billion. Plus, leading the next generation, California is home to 35 of the world’s 50 leading AI companies, high-impact research and education institutions, and a quarter of the technology’s patents and conference papers.

California is currently ranked number one in the nation for multiple job-related categories, including: new business starts, access to venture capital funding, manufacturing, high-tech, and agriculture.