Bay Area, California both lose jobs in February as hiring surge halts

The Bay Area and California both lost thousands of jobs during February, a disquieting report that raises questions about the strength of the economy in the state and this region.

The job losses in the nine-county region and statewide suggest that the hiring boom that began in the final few months of 2023 and extended into January of this year has been interrupted, at least for the moment.

The Bay Area lost 4,200 jobs in February, according to a new government report released Friday.

California shed 3,400 jobs last month, a setback that terminated six straight months of employment gains statewide.

The statewide jobless rate worsened to 5.3% in February, up from 5.2% in January, the report shows.

All three of the Bay Area’s largest metro centers lost jobs in February. Here’s how they fared:

— The South Bay lost 100 jobs in February.

— The East Bay shed 2,400 jobs last month.

— The San Francisco-San Mateo region lost 1,000 jobs in February.

All of the numbers were adjusted for seasonal variations.

In a distressing turn of events, it turns out the job gains that officials reported for January wound up being far weaker than first thought.

Rather than gaining 13,600 jobs in January as initially estimated, the Bay Area added only 1,900 positions.

Similarly, California originally was thought to have added a robust 58,100 jobs in January. It turns out the state’s job gains in January were 25,600 positions — less than half the initial estimate.