Two years ago, the initial lockdowns of the pandemic era crushed Southern California’s job market.

But a stunning rebound from those antsy, dark days now raises questions about an economy challenged with “too much good stuff.”

Two springs ago, bosses in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties cast aside 1.27 million workers as government officials and business leaders struggled to figure out how to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

That staff-slashing spree pushed the four-county unemployment rate to a pandemic high of 17.6%, up from 3.9%.

Layoffs and firings soon morphed into renewed hiring. Trillions in economic stimulus were thrown at the national economy to stabilize businesses, then reignite them. Consumers received enormous aid to keep bills paid and food on the table.

And do not forget the business boost from the medical miracle of coronavirus vaccines. These breakthroughs dramatically trimmed the risks of hospitalization or death for COVID-19 patients. Still, 1 million Americans have died.

So two years after record-shattering job losses, April’s employment report from the state’s Employment Development Department details a remarkable recovery.

Southern California’s worker count is just 108,000 short of pre-pandemic employment. Joblessness in the region has fallen to 4.1%.

What’s the beef?

The unprecedented help given to consumers and corporations restored employment and boosted savings accounts and investment values.

Consumers were in a spending mood — and businesses were happy to oblige. All the shopping amid supply chain challenges pushed inflation rates to 40-year highs.

At the latest count, the cost of living soared 10% in a year in the Inland Empire and 8.5% in L.A.-O.C.

Worker shortage

Consider the number of Southern Californians who are officially out of work.

When the virus struck, roughly 1 in 6 local workers lost a job. The official number of the unemployed swiftly grew four-fold.

The rehiring spree has left just 363,000 unemployed as of April 2022 — that’s roughly one-third less than the average number of out-of-work Southern California since 1990.

And you wonder why the average weekly wage for the region is up 15% in the two years ended in September 2021?

Shopping spree

Coronavirus changed how we shopped for the goods we need.

A huge winner was the transportation and warehouse industries as online retail grew even faster.

Local logistics shops cut 28,000 jobs when the virus hit, but since that low point, 111,000 such jobs have been added — or roughly four times the virus-linked layoffs.

Early in the pandemic, there were fears shopping centers might become extinct. Southern California’s store owners cut 150,000 jobs as clicking for goods at home became too easy.

But the “death of the mall” thesis was proven wrong. Folks wanted the in-person shopping experience, and brick-and-mortar merchants have now replaced all their pandemic job cuts.

Of course, this leads to a new question — do we now have too many people handling the shopping needs of Southern Californians?

Real worries

Another huge early winner in the pandemic was the property business.

Cheap mortgages and a thirst for larger living spaces drove demand for home purchases, rental units and mortgages.

Starting this year, though, mortgage rates that fell below 3% mid-pandemic have jumped above 5%.

That’s quickly chilled the real estate business.

Bosses in real estate, finance and construction initially cut 76,000 jobs but have refilled 63,000 as the property game heated up. But the sudden real estate chill has cost 4,000 workers their jobs in recent months.

Less fun?

All this spare cash floating in the economy has helped the restaurant business get back to a level near normal.