While the rest of California — and the nation — posts solid job gains, San Francisco is moving in the wrong direction. The city's unemployment rate is climbing, driven largely by continued tech layoffs that show no signs of slowing down.

Let that sink in for a moment. The economic engine that powered San Francisco's transformation into the most expensive city in America is sputtering, and City Hall has no Plan B.

For years, San Francisco bet everything on one industry. Tax revenue projections, commercial real estate valuations, small business ecosystems — all of it was built on the assumption that tech would keep hiring forever. That assumption was always a fantasy, and now the bill is coming due.

Here's what makes this particularly painful: the layoffs aren't happening because the tech sector is collapsing. Companies are restructuring, embracing AI-driven efficiencies, and in many cases simply deciding they don't need to be headquartered in a city that charges a premium for the privilege of stepping over human waste on the sidewalk. When your city taxes businesses into oblivion and delivers deteriorating public services in return, don't act surprised when they trim headcount — starting with the San Francisco office.

The divergence from statewide and national trends is the real story here. This isn't a macroeconomic problem. This is a San Francisco problem. Other cities are growing. Other labor markets are tightening. We're the outlier, and not in the way we like to brag about.

What should the city be doing? For starters, stop treating employers like ATMs. Streamline permitting for new businesses. Cut the red tape that makes it nearly impossible to open a restaurant, a shop, or a startup without a small army of lawyers. Diversify the economic base instead of assuming the next unicorn will save us.

San Francisco has been coasting on reputation for a decade. The unemployment numbers suggest the ride is over. The question is whether our leaders have the courage — and the fiscal discipline — to build something more resilient. Based on their track record, we're not holding our breath.