Bay Area adds more than 91,000 jobs in 2012, best increase in a decade

The Bay Area economy in 2012 powered to its strongest job performance since the dot-com boom, a clear indication that the region has banished the most recent recession, state labor officials reported Friday.

For all of 2012, the Bay Area added 91,400 jobs, according to seasonally adjusted figures released Friday by the state’s Employment Development Department. That was the best annual gain since 2000, when the nine-county region added 129,000 jobs at the apex of the Internet surge.

The South Bay added about 29,000 jobs during 2012, while the San Francisco-San Mateo-Marin region gained approximately 31,000 jobs and the East Bay added about 21,000.

The Bay Area job market increased its numbers by 2.9 percent. The South Bay and the San Francisco metro area each produced a job gain of 3.2 percent. The East Bay gained 2.3 percent.

Job growth in California expanded at a much faster pace than California and the nation.

For all of 2012, California added 225,900 jobs, a gain of 1.9 percent. The United States last year increased its payroll job totals by 1.4 percent.

December, however, brought some hiccups to the job market in the Bay Area, the EDD reported.

The Bay Area lost 2,600 jobs in December, adjusted for seasonal changes. The East Bay was particularly hard hit, with a loss of 1,900 jobs, and the South Bay lost 700 jobs. Sonoma County lost 1,200 jobs. The strongest urban center in the region was the San Francisco metro area, which gained 1,600 jobs.

California also suffered job losses in December. Employers statewide shed 17,500 jobs. The statewide unemployment rate remained unchanged at 9.8 percent.

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