The Red Monkey

The job losses returned to California in February.

After a promising January in which the state added 25,400 jobs, payrolls fell by 20,400 in February, the Employment Development Department reported today.

The numbers suggest that while the worst is likely over, the job market is still bouncing around the bottom.

The unemployment rate was 12.5 percent in February, unchanged from the month before.

Sacramento area unemployment fell three-tenths of a point, to 12.8 percent, although the region lost 1,200 jobs during the month.

The Sacramento construction sector lost 1,500 more jobs even though hiring normally perks up slightly in February. Statewide, the construction industry lost 21,500 jobs, more than any other industrial sector.

 Analysts said the results were discouraging. “Not much progress on this one,” said Howard Roth, the chief economist at the state Department of Finance.

The state is “treading water, as is the nation,” said Stephen Levy of the Center for Continuing Study of the California Economy.