Northern California powers to big job gains in February

Solano County adds 700 positions

The Bay Area powered to big job gains during February, led by a huge surge in the South Bay, an upswing that offers hope the region is poised to rebound from coronaviruslinked business shutdowns and massive layoffs.

The nine-county region in February posted its largest monthly gain in jobs since August, an indication that the slow easing of government restrictions may be allowing more businesses to open their operations and hire workers.

During February, the Bay Area added 16,700 jobs, which ended two months of job losses that occurred in December and January, according to a government report released Friday.

Santa Clara County gained 7,400 jobs, which means the South Bay accounted for 44% — nearly half — of the jobs added in the entire Bay Area in February the monthly government release showed.

The San Francisco-San Mateo region added 2,600 positions while the East Bay added 1,600 jobs.

Marin County added 2,000 jobs, Sonoma County and Napa County each gained 1,200 jobs, and Solano County added 700 positions. Santa Cruz County had no change in its job totals lin February.

California gained 141,000 jobs in February, which was the largest onemonth gain in employment since last June. All of the Bay Area and statewide numbers were adjusted for seasonal variations.

The statewide jobless rate in February improved to 8.5%, down from 9% in January.

“February marks the lowest unemployment rate California has seen since the onset of the pandemic last year,” the state Labor Department and the governor’s office said in a prepared release on Friday.