After jobs rebound in February, unemployment is at a pandemic low in California

A waiter serves customers behind a plexiglass partition at Figaro Bistrot in Los Feliz on the first day that Los Angeles County again allowed indoor seating at restaurants in March 2021. (Gina Ferazzi/ Los Angeles Times)

by: Los Angeles Times

Posted: Mar 26, 2021 / 05:57 PM PDT

Updated: Mar 26, 2021 / 05:57 PM PDT

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California’s economic recovery gained pace in February as the state recouped jobs lost to a dire winter COVID-19 surge, bringing the unemployment rate to its lowest level since the onset of the pandemic last year, officials said.

The state’s jobless rate fell to 8.5% from 9.0% in January as employers added 141,000 jobs, according to state data published Friday.

“Today’s news, along with the governor’s announcement this week that California is continuing to expand COVID-19 vaccine eligibility, is a milestone in our ongoing recovery,” Dee Dee Myers, director of the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development, and state Labor Secretary Julie A. Su said in a statement.

The February reversal recovered nearly 91% of the jobs lost in December and January, when a coronavirus surge and business closures took a grim toll on employment.

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