Both the Bay Area and California lost jobs during April, but the South Bay was one of the bright spots as this region wrestles with ongoing staffing cutbacks in the crucial technology industry.
The Bay Area shed 700 jobs in April, according to a new report from the state labor agency.
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Downtown Oakland and the Cathedral Building, seen in a drone shot in April 2026. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)
The hiring setbacks in the Bay Area last month were triggered primarily by a loss of 1,200 jobs in the San Francisco-San Mateo area, the state Employment Development Department reported. The East Bay lost 100 positions in April.
The South Bay was a rare bright spot for this region, gaining 500 jobs in April. The South Bay has gained jobs for 10 consecutive months, this news organization’s review of the EDD reports determined.
In the North Bay, Sonoma County added 300 jobs and Solano County gained 100 jobs. Napa County’s job totals remained unchanged, while Marin County lost 300 jobs, according to the state EDD report. All of the statewide and Bay Area numbers were adjusted for seasonal volatility.
California lost 3,300 jobs in April, continuing an uneven year for the Golden State’s employment picture. California gained jobs in January, lost jobs in February, and bounced back with job gains in March prior to April’s setback.
The hiring roller coaster in California has produced a net gain of 97,200 jobs in the state so far in 2026.
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The statewide unemployment rate was unchanged at 5.3% in April.
California, however, is among the worst of the worst when it comes to jobless rates. The 5.3% figure left California tied with Nevada and Delaware for the highest unemployment rates among the 50 states.
In a hopeful sign for the Bay Area, officials issued an upward revision in the region’s job results for March.
The state EDD originally calculated that the Bay Area lost 3,500 jobs in March. The latest estimate shows the Bay Area actually gained 1,900 jobs that month.
On the other hand, tech companies continue to disclose plans for layoffs in the Bay Area. The effects on the Bay Area economy of the tech industry’s staffing reductions continue to play out.
Over a longer-term period, the South Bay job market is outperforming the Bay Area, that region’s major metro areas, California and the United States, according to a review of statistics posted by the federal and state labor agencies.
During the one-year period that ended in April, job totals grew by 1.2% in the South Bay.
The South Bay’s pace of job gains far outstripped the respective increases of 0.7% in the Bay Area and the San Francisco-San Mateo region, 0.6% in California, and 0.2% in the East Bay and the United States over the same 12 months.
The tech industry suffered noticeable job losses in the Bay Area during April, according to seasonally adjusted estimates from Beacon Economics that the company derived from the official state EDD report.
The Bay Area lost 1,400 tech jobs in April, primarily due to a decline of 900 tech jobs in the San Francisco-San Mateo metro area. Beacon estimated that tech job losses totaled 300 in the East Bay, 100 in the South Bay and another 100 in Solano County.
With two major sporting events that occurred in February and March in the books, Bay Area hotels and restaurants appeared to refrain from hiring during April, the Beacon estimates show.
Hotels and restaurants cut 900 jobs in the Bay Area in April, led by a loss of 400 jobs in the South Bay and another 300 in the San Francisco-San Mateo region, Beacon Economics reported. The South Bay hosted the Super Bowl in February and several NCAA men’s college basketball tournament games as part of March Madness.
During April, the South Bay’s strongest industry was administrative support, which includes jobs such as routine office functions, clerical work, building maintenance and janitorial services. The South Bay added 700 administrative support jobs, the Beacon estimates show.