California's unemployment rate has fallen to 5.4 percent after employers added a surprising 138,100 jobs in February.
New data released Friday from the state's Employment Development Department show California has regained 87.2 percent of the jobs that the state lost in March and April of 2020 at the beginning of the pandemic.
None of the state's 11 industry sectors lost jobs in February.
The leisure and hospitality sectors posted the biggest gains, adding 30,400 jobs.
Most of that came in Los Angeles County, which accounted for 44 percent of all state job gains.
San Luis Obispo County's unemployment rate was 3.3 percent in February, down from 3.8 percent in January. It was 6.7 percent in February 2021.
In Santa Barbara County, the unemployment rate was 4.3 percent in February, down from 4.8 percent in January. One year ago, it was 8.0 percent.
