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Football fans navigate through the first day of the Super Bowl Experience at the Moscone Center in San Francisco in February. The sporting event is credited with adding more jobs to the city’s economy.<\/p>\n
Bront\u00eb Wittpenn\/S.F. Chronicle<\/p>\n
San Francisco\u2019s restaurants and hotels have ramped up hiring, a sign of strength despite\u00a0persistent tech layoffs,<\/a> according to new jobs data released Friday.<\/a><\/p>\n The San Francisco metropolitan area, which includes San Mateo County, added 2,000 leisure and hospitality jobs between January and February, with 80% of those jobs in hospitality and food services, according to state data. The Super Bowl helped boost local hotels and restaurants<\/a> in February, generating up to an estimated $440 million<\/a> in spending in San Francisco.<\/p>\n Leisure and hospitality companies added 5,600 jobs between February 2025 and February 2026 in the region \u2014 the most of any major sector. Even private education and health services, which has been seeing a nationwide boom,<\/a> added only 4,000 jobs in that period.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cThis number does stand out. We hear so much about restaurant closures, a downturn in tourism, and empty storefronts. These are all present. But it is also an example of how the artificial intelligence boom in San Francisco is buoying the broader economy,\u201d said Michael Bernick, special counsel at Duane Morris LP.<\/p>\n Restaurants have told the Chronicle that AI startups will spend lavishly on food,<\/a> including $35,000 to $50,000 on a single restaurant buyout.<\/p>\n San Francisco Chronicle Logo<\/p>\n Make us a Preferred Source to get more of our news when you search.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Add Preferred Source<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n \u201cEmployers with San Francisco restaurants and hotels, and with related services, will describe how much the AI companies are bolstering the local economy, well beyond the direct hiring they are doing,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n February\u2019s jobs showed a direct impact from Super Bowl hiring, with the performing arts, spectator sports and special food services subsectors seeing the biggest growth during the month.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cThe Super Bowl appears to have played a key role in boosting the leisure and hospitality sector,\u201d said Junwei Li, a research data analyst at the state Employment Development Department.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is good news,\u201d said Laurie Thomas, executive director of the Golden Gate Restaurant Association and owner of two San Francisco restaurants. She also believes the lack of snow in the Sierras may have led more people to stay in San Francisco and dine locally. There have also been a number of major conferences, including the recent RSA cybersecurity event, which has boosted foot traffic.<\/p>\n \u201cIt has been busier than usual,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n One major challenge for restaurants and the entire economy is the Iran war, which has sent oil prices spiking and food costs up.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, numerous tech companies have continued layoffs this year, including Salesforce,<\/a> which is San Francisco\u2019s largest private employer, Amazon<\/a> and Meta.<\/a><\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n The San Francisco metropolitan area\u2019s professional and business services sector added a net 2,500 jobs between February 2025 and February 2026, lower than leisure and hospitality.<\/p>\n San Francisco\u2019s unemployment rate was 3.9% in February, lower than California\u2019s 5.4%.<\/p>\n