Bay Area, California both lose thousands of jobs as hiring tumbles

The job markets in both the Bay Area and California shed thousands of jobs in February, a decline that followed losses in January in a dreary start for the statewide economy to kick off 2025.

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The Bay Area lost 5,200 jobs in February, a setback unleashed by the loss of hundreds of jobs for each of the region’s three biggest metro centers, the East Bay, South Bay and the San Francisco metro area, a new report from the state Employment Development Department shows.

California lost 7,500 jobs in February, the state EDD reported. This means California has lost 28,900 jobs so far in 2025 after the state shed 21,400 positions in January.

The statewide unemployment rate was unchanged in February, matching the 5.4% level of January.

Here is how the Bay Area’s three major metro regions fared in February, according to the EDD report. All of the numbers were adjusted for seasonal volatility:

— The East Bay lost 1,700 jobs in February.

— The South Bay shed 1,300 positions last month.

— The San Francisco-San Mateo region lost 1,200 jobs.

The most recent round of job losses means the Bay Area has lost 9,900 jobs so far in 2025, following a revision of the original estimate for January.

The San Francisco metro area has suffered the largest losses of the Bay Area’s major urban centers. So farin 2025, the San Francisco-San Mateo region has lost 4,500 jobs.

The East Bay has lost 2,500 jobs so far in 2025.

Over the first two months of 2025, the South Bay lost 2,200 positions, this news organization’s analysis of the state EDD figures show.