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California’s unemployment rate is now the highest in the country, reaching 5.3% in February following new data that revealed job growth in the nation’s most populous state was much lower last year than previously thought.

California lost a staggering 2.7 million jobs at the start of the coronavirus pandemic, losses brought on by Gov. Gavin Newsom’s stay-at-home order, which forced many businesses to close.

The state has added more than 3 million jobs since then, a remarkable streak that averaged just over 66,000 new jobs per month, according to the state Employment Development Department.

Last year, the preliminary numbers showed California added 9,900 jobs in July. But the corrected numbers show the state actually lost about 41,400 jobs that month.

Seven of California’s 11 job sectors lost jobs in February. The largest decrease was in construction, with 9,600 jobs lost — a reflection of disruptions from a series of strong storms that hit the state in February. The job losses would have been much worse had it not been for a strong showing among the health care sector, led mostly by increases in jobs such as acupuncturists and dieticians, according to the state Employment Development Department.

The economic slowdown has made its way to the state’s budget, which for the second year in a row is facing a multibillion-dollar deficit.