Southern California’s antsy bosses trimmed their collective job creation in February to a pace that’s one-third slower than the historical norm.

My trusty spreadsheet, filled with state job figures, found 7.96 million people working in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties in February. Yes, that’s up 30,500 from January, but it’s also 33% below the median 45,200 positions that were added locally in February since 2010.

Bosses have become cautious about their staffing as uncertainty grows over new economic policies, which has added to worries about consumer anxieties, stubbornly high interest rates, and various California business challenges.

You also see the local hiring chill by looking back 12 months. Southern California jobs have grown by just 600 since February 2024 compared to adding 36,000 workers in the previous year and 77,200 annual growth since 2010.