Silicon Valley powers Bay Area job surge during July

The Bay Area job market surged during July, an upswing powered by an employment boom in Santa Clara County, where the hiring picture is stronger than it was at the start of the year, state labor officials reported Friday.

Santa Clara County added 4,800 jobs in July — nearly two-thirds of the 7,400 jobs added in the Bay Area, according to seasonally adjusted figures from the state’s Employment Development Department. Other Bay Area gains included 2,000 positions in the San Francisco-San Mateo region and 200 in the East Bay. Santa Cruz County lost 300 jobs.

California saw an increase of 46,700 payroll jobs in July, the EDD reported, rebounding after a weak performance in June. The statewide unemployment rate remained at a record-low 4.2 percent. The South Bay, East Bay and San Francisco metro areas all posted unemployment rates below 3 percent.

“The Bay Area led California out of the Great Recession and it continues to lead the statewide job market,” said economist Robert Kleinhenz, executive director of research with Beacon Economics.

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EDD unemployment payments backlog worsens in recent months The EDD stats point to a South Bay job market that’s picking up steam. Job gains averaged 4,300 a month in Santa Clara County from May through July. That’s more than double the monthly average of 2,100 positions for the first three months of 2018.

Over the one-year period that ended in July, the technology and health care industries were the only two employment sectors that posted gains in all three of the Bay Area’s major urban centers — the South Bay, the San Francisco-San Mateo region and the East Bay — according to this news organization’s analysis of seasonally adjusted figures released by Beacon Economics and UC Riverside.

“A couple of years ago, people were worried that tech was slowing down, but Santa Clara County’s tech industry is really leading the way,” Kleinhenz said.

During the most recent 12 months, the tech industry added 16,700 jobs in Santa Clara County, 11,400 positions in the San Francisco-San Mateo metro region, and 2,900 in the East Bay.

Health care employers added 4,500 jobs in the South Bay, 3,700 in the San Francisco metro area and 1,500 in the East Bay over the one-year stretch.

Here’s how other key industries fared over the 12 months that ended in July: Construction companies added 3,400 jobs in the East Bay and 2,300 in the South Bay, but chopped 1,400 jobs in the San Francisco-San Mateo area; hotels and restaurants gained 4,700 jobs in the South Bay and 2,300 in San Francisco-San Mateo, but shed 1,000 positions in the East Bay. The retail industry gained 1,500 jobs in the East Bay, but eliminated 400 jobs in the San Francisco-San Mateo metro area and 100 in the South Bay.

Over the most recent one-year period, total payroll jobs have grown by 3.2 percent in Santa Clara County, 1.8 percent in the San Francisco-San Mateo region, 1.6 percent in the East Bay and by 2.1 percent in the Bay Area. During the same time frame, California’s job market grew 2 percent, while the United States expanded by 1.6 percent.

“The Bay Area is still at full employment and jobs are continuing to grow here,” said Jeffrey Michael, director of the Stockton-based Center for Business and Policy Research.

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Despite home prices that have skyrocketed beyond the means of a growing number of workers, the Bay Area — and the South Bay in particular — so far have defied the housing market’s potential barriers to continued growth.

“The economy in the Bay Area has managed to overcome these problems,” Michael said. “The labor force continues to grow because workers are so attracted to the employment opportunities and the high salaries.”

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