The Health Care sector led growth over the last year, with payrolls expanding by 144,400 or 5.1%. Other sectors posting strong gains over the last year were Government (58,100 or 2.2%), Transportation, Warehousing, and Utilities (15,600 or 1.9%), and Education (14,900 or 2.8%).

The Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services sector led declines over the last year, with payrolls falling by 38,800, a -2.7% decrease. Other sectors with notable declines include Manufacturing (-34,000 or -2.7%), Leisure and Hospitality (-16,400 or -0.8%), Construction (-14,900 or -1.6%), Finance and Insurance (-12,900 or -2.6%), Real Estate (-10,400 or -3.3%), Administrative Support (-9,900 or -0.9%), Information (-6,800 or -1.3%), and Wholesale Trade (-5,100 or -0.8%).

At the industry level, growth was mixed in February, with some sectors adding positions while others experienced layoffs. Health Care led the gains in February, with payrolls expanding by 14,900, an increase of 0.5% on a month-over-month basis. The Health Care sector has been one of the primary sources of new jobs in the state since the start of the pandemic, with payrolls up 19.4% since February 2020.

Other sectors posting gains during the month include Government (3,600 or 0.1%), Education (3,500 or 0.8%), Information (2,600 or 0.5%), and Wholesale Trade (1,800 or 0.3%).

Payrolls also decreased a handful of sectors in February. The Leisure and Hospitality sector had the largest payroll declines this month, falling by -6,900, a contraction of -0.3% on a month-over-month basis. The Fast Act, which raised the minimum wage to $20/hour for fast-food workers at large chains in California, could be contributing to these declines.

Other sectors posting significant declines during the month were Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services (-5,200 or -0.4%), Finance and Insurance (-5,000 or -1.0%), Transportation, Warehousing, and Utilities (-4,900 or-0.6%), Construction (-3,500 or -0.4%), Manufacturing (-3,300 or -0.3%), Administrative Support (-2,600 or -0.2%), and Other Services (-2,500 or -0.4%).