SACRAMENTO, Calif. – California’s economy sprang to life in February as employers added a surprise 138,100 jobs, accounting for more than 20% of all job gains in the country.
“It’s a stunning leap,” said Michael Bernick, a former director of the state’s employment development department who is now an attorney with the Duane Morris law firm. “Virtually all sectors are growing.”
Ten of the state’s 11 industrial sectors added jobs in February. The leisure and hospitality sector had the biggest jump, adding 30,400 jobs. Most of this happened in Los Angeles County, which is heading for its first reasonably normal tourism season since 2019. The county, which has an outsized number of service jobs, accounted for 44% of all job gains in the state.
California — the country’s most populous state with nearly 40 million people — was the first to issue a statewide stay-at-home order at the start of the coronavirus pandemic. The state lost just over 2.7 million jobs in March and April 2020 when its unemployment rate peaked at 16.1%.
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New data released Friday by California’s Employment Development Department showed the state has now recovered 87.2% of the jobs it lost.
California’s unemployment rate fell to 5.4% from 5.7% in January, giving the state the third-highest rate in the country behind New Mexico and the District of Columbia. Nationwide, the unemployment rate is 3.8%.
The state has added jobs in 12 of the last 13 months, averaging about 101,700 new jobs per month. California ranks third nationally for the fastest job growth, behind Nevada and Hawaii.
“These latest numbers show that California continues to drive our nation’s job growth,” Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom said.
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