S.F. restaurants and hotels add thousands of jobs to city - thanks in part to this major event
San Francisco's restaurants and hotels have ramped up hiring, a sign of strength despite persistent tech layoffs, according to new jobs data released Friday.
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 in February, generating up to an estimated $440 million in spending in San Francisco.
Leisure and hospitality companies added 5,600 jobs between February 2025 and February 2026 in the region, the most of any major sector. Even private education and health services, which have been seeing a nationwide boom, added only 4,000 jobs in that period.
"This 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," said Michael Bernick, special counsel at Duane Morris LP.
Restaurants have told the Chronicle that AI startups will spend lavishly on food, including $35,000 to $50,000 on a single restaurant buyout.
"Employers 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," he said.
February's 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.
"The Super Bowl appears to have played a key role in boosting the leisure and hospitality sector," said Junwei Li, a research data analyst at the state Employment Development Department.
"This is good news," 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 Sierra 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.
"It has been busier than usual," she said.
One major challenge for restaurants and the entire economy is the Iran war, which has sent oil prices spiking and food costs up.
Meanwhile, numerous tech companies have continued layoffs this year, including Salesforce, which is San Francisco's largest private employer, Amazon and Meta.
The San Francisco metropolitan area's professional and business services sector added a net 2,500 jobs between February 2025 and February 2026, lower than leisure and hospitality.
San Francisco's unemployment rate was 3.9% in February, lower than California's 5.4%.
The state lost 19,900 jobs in February, with the Kaiser health care worker strike cited as a major factor, according to state officials. The strike ended in late February.
The state's decline was consistent with February's national jobs decline. In March, the U.S. added 178,000 non-farm payroll jobs in a show of strength. March data for California will be released in May.
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This story was originally published April 17, 2026 at 7:08 PM.