HispanicBusiness

The Bay Area job market powered to its strongest performance in more than a decade during 2012, a clear indication that the region has banished the most recent recession, state labor officials reported Friday.

For all of 2012, the Bay Area added more than 91,000 jobs, according to seasonally adjusted figures released Friday by the state's Employment Development Department. The was the best annual gain in at least 10 years.

The South Bay added about 29,000 jobs during 2012, while the San Francisco-San Mateo-Marin region gained approximately 31,000 jobs and the East Bay added about 21,000.

December, however, brought some hiccups to the job market in the Bay Area, the EDD reported.

The Bay Area lost 2,600 jobs in December, adjusted for seasonal changes. The East Bay was particularly hard hit, with a loss of 1,900 jobs, and the South Bay lost 700 jobs. Sonoma County lost 1,200 jobs. The strongest urban center in the region was the San Francisco metro area, which gained 1,600 jobs.

California also suffered job losses in December. Employers statewide shed 17,500 jobs. The California unemployment rate remained unchanged at 9.8 percent.

For all of 2012, California added 225,900 jobs, a gain of 1.9 percent.