The Bay Area gained more than 12,000 jobs in March in a hiring surge led by the East Bay and Santa Clara County, state jobs data showed Friday, easing concerns about an economic slowdown.

The East Bay added 9,900 jobs in March, Santa Clara County gained 3,000 and the San Francisco-San Mateo area added 200 positions, according to the state’s Employment Development Department.

The gain of 12,400 jobs in the Bay Area — the most in a month since last October — banished job losses that pummeled the nine-county region in January and February. Those setbacks had raised the specter of an economic slump hitting the region.

“The March gains take the collapse of the Bay Area economy off the table,” said Stephen Levy, director of the Palo Alto-based Center for Continuing Study of the California Economy. “We will continue to see steady growth in the Bay Area.”

The job surge in the East Bay was the best one-month performance since the dot-com era for that region, which was devastated by the housing- and construction-related employment meltdowns unleashed by the Great Recession.

“The East Bay and more peripheral counties in or near the Bay Area will likely see the fastest job growth going forward,” said Jeffrey Michael, director of the Stockton-based Center for Business and Policy Research at University of the Pacific. “This was a strong month, led by the East Bay.”

Santa Clara County’s job gains were the best for a single month for that area since last November.

California added 19,300 jobs during March, according to the report. About 64 percent of the jobs added statewide during March were produced in the Bay Area. What’s more, two of the three best performing metro areas in California during March were from the Bay Area.

The East Bay was the top performer in California in March. The San Bernardino-Riverside area was second with 4,300 jobs gained. Santa Clara County came in third.

“This is a good, solid report,” said Jon Haveman chief economist with San Rafael-based Marin Economic Consulting. “But there is still some softness in the Bay Area economy, some troubling aspects. Retail is one of those.”

San Francisco’s skyrocketing office rents and demand by tech companies to find places to rent could force some companies to seek greener pastures in places such as the East Bay and South Bay, which could bolster their job markets.

“Some businesses could be finding that it’s less expensive to lease space in Oakland and easier to get in and out of there,” said Mark Vitner, a senior economist with San Francisco-based Wells Fargo.

The construction sector was particularly robust in both the East Bay and Santa Clara County, according to an analysis of the EDD figures by Beacon Economics. Tech also rebounded nicely in the South Bay.

The East Bay job gains during March were widespread among an array of industries: The Alameda County-Contra Costa County area gained 2,200 construction jobs, 1,600 hotel and restaurant jobs, 1,400 administrative support positions, 900 tech jobs and 900 health care jobs.

Santa Clara County’s strongest sectors were construction, which gained 1,500 jobs, technology which added 1,400 positions and health care, which added 1,100.

“All of the rain we got in December, January, and into February, probably caused some construction work to be put off, so there was a big surge in construction jobs in March,” Vitner said.

The sturdy job market, if it persists, could benefit workers and their paychecks, said Scott Anderson, chief economist with San Francisco-based Bank of the West.

“Putting up job growth numbers like this every month will place more pressure on Bay Area employers to boost hourly wages and salaries,” Anderson said.

The statewide jobless rate improved to 4.9 percent from the February rate of 5 percent. The last time California’s unemployment rate was below 5 percent was in December 2006.

Jobless rates also improved throughout the Bay Area, or remained at near-record-low levels, according to seasonally adjusted estimates provided by Beacon Economics and UC Riverside.

The East Bay unemployment rate was 3.9 percent in March, an improvement from 4 percent in February, and it was the lowest rate for that region since April 2001. The San Francisco-San Mateo area had a 2.9 percent unemployment rate in both March and February. The last time the San Francisco area was below 3 percent unemployment was in December 1999. The Santa Clara County jobless rate was 3.5 percent in March, an improvement from the 3.6 percent rate in February. The South Bay has been below 4 percent unemployment since August 2016.

“The bottom line from these numbers is the economic expansion still has legs, both at the state level and in the Bay Area,” said Robert Kleinhenz, executive director of economic research with Beacon Economics, which tracks the regional and statewide economies. “The labor market is getting tighter.”