Bay Area jobless rates rise to 2.8% amid tech layoffs

San Francisco’s unemployment rate rose to 2.8% in January from a preliminary 2% rate in December as a wave of tech layoffs continued to hit the local economy.

The rest of the Bay Area also saw unemployment rates jump at a higher rate than the rest of the state. Santa Clara County’s rate climbed to 3% in January, from a preliminary 2% rate in December, state data released Friday showed.

In contrast, California’s unemployment rate was up only slightly in January, rising 0.1 percentage points to 4.2% from the prior month. California companies and government agencies added 96,700 non-farm jobs, accounting for nearly a fifth of the 504,000 U.S. jobs added that month.

San Francisco’s unemployment rate was at its highest point since February 2022. Detailed county jobs data by sector wasn’t available Friday due to technical difficulties, the state Employment Development Department said.

Bay Area-based tech giants and smaller startups have announced layoffs affecting tens of thousands of global workers since last fall, including over 20,000 workers in the Bay Area.

The tech layoffs won’t fully register in the unemployment data for months, as many workers were given months of severance, delaying their effective date of being laid off.

Statewide, the biggest job losses of any sector were in the construction industry, which saw 7,300 workers cut in January as storms battered California. The tech-heavy information sector lost 5,000 jobs, the second-biggest drop among sectors. Financial activities lost 2,200 jobs.

Government jobs grew by 46,000, the most of any sector, led by the end of a strike by 36,000 University of California workers.

The leisure and hospitality sector saw 20,800 new jobs as consumer demand remained robust and COVID-19 cases remained low.

The rest of the Bay Area saw unemployment rate increases in January:

• Alameda County rose to 3.6% from a preliminary 2.7% in December.

• Contra Costa County rose to 3.9% from a preliminary 2.9% in December.

• San Mateo County rose to 2.6% from a preliminary 1.9%, the lowest in the state, in December.

• Marin County rose to 3.1% from a preliminary 2.2% in December.

• Napa County rose to 3.9% from a preliminary 3% in December.

• Sonoma County rose to 3.6% from a preliminary 2.5% in December.

• Solano County rose to 4.8% from a preliminary 3.8% in December.

Nationally, the economy added 311,000 jobs in February, continuing a strong growth streak. The U.S. unemployment rate rose to 3.6% from 3.4% in January, according to federal data released Friday.

“Tech layoffs have not stopped,” said Michael Bernick, a special counsel at Duane Morris focusing on labor law and former director of the EDD. “But these losses have been more than made up by hiring in other sectors and among midsize and smaller firms,” both in California and nationally.

But the abrupt government takeover of Silicon Valley Bank on Friday sparked more concerns over the health of the economy.

Reach Roland Li: roland.li@sfchronicle.com; Twitter: @rolandlisf