Los Angeles is slowly recovering from the dramatic job losses at the start of the pandemic. The market has regained more than half of the jobs lost since March, and the unemployment rate has inched down 300 basis points since September to land at 12.1%, according to a new report from CBRE.

"Most of the job gains we are seeing in L.A. and elsewhere in the region represent a rebound from the unprecedented and immediate drop in employment in April," Eric Willett, our regional director for research and thought leadership, tells GlobeS.com. "Most of the jobs eliminated then were a temporary response to new social distancing restrictions, and employers have brought back many of the roles that were furloughed or eliminated in those early months of the pandemic. In the past two months, seasonal hiring—especially in transportation and warehousing—has been an additional boon to the regional employment market."

The recent jobs lost at the beginning of the pandemic were temporary furloughs, but as the recession wears on, more of these job losses are becoming permanent. "The overwhelming majority of jobs lost in the first two months of the pandemic were short-term losses," says Willett. "Since May, however, long-term job loss has slowly increased even as the short-term unemployed return to work in large numbers."