For the first time since the 9/11 attacks, all three of the Bay Area’s employment hubs — the South Bay, the East Bay and the San Francisco metro area — are million-job economies, fresh evidence that the region has banished the woes of the Great Recession, a state labor report released Friday shows.
That also suggests the Bay Area may be experiencing an employment boom reminiscent of the dot-com era. The difference this time is that much of the employment gains are being driven by solid performers in the technology industry such as Google, Apple and Facebook.
“There may be some constraints on job growth in the future, but right now the Bay Area is a dynamic economy and it’s likely to remain that way for a while,” said Jeffrey Michael, director of the Stockton-based Business Forecasting Center at the University of the Pacific. “The Bay Area is going to remain a magnet for talent and innovation.”
The Bay Area added 12,900 jobs in September, powered by strong monthly surges throughout the region. Santa Clara County gained 4,800 jobs, the East Bay added 4,700 positions and the San Francisco-San Mateo-Marin region increased its job totals by 2,100. All the numbers were adjusted for seasonal variations. With Santa Clara County’s gains, it hit 1,004,800 jobs; the East Bay totaled 1,061,300, and the San Francisco-San Mateo-Marin region now has 1,114,300 jobs, the Employment Development Department reported. The last time all three hit this level was August 2001.
“The hot job market remains intact in the Bay Area,” said Scott Anderson, chief economist with San Francisco-based Bank of the West. “We are definitely getting close to full employment in this region.”
Jobless rates improved throughout the Bay Area in September compared with August, according to a Beacon Economic analysis of the EDD figures. In September, the East Bay jobless rate was 5.8 percent, down from 5.9 percent in August; the South Bay unemployment rate was 5.3 percent, down from 5.4 percent; and the San Francisco-San Mateo-Marin jobless rate was 4.2 percent, down from 4.3 percent in August. Those are the lowest jobless rates for those regions in more than five years.
“The Bay Area in particular, and California in general, have led the pace of job growth nationwide,” said Jordan Levine, director of economic research with Beacon.
The gains in the Bay Area last month contrasted with a loss of 9,800 jobs in California. However, the statewide jobless rate improved to 7.3 percent in September, down from 7.4 percent in August. That can happen because the jobless rate and the data on the total number of jobs created are derived from different surveys.
And, as has been the case for months, tech continues to be the primary creator of new jobs, especially in Santa Clara County, Silicon Valley’s traditional home.
In Santa Clara County, the tech sector — consisting of computer and electronics manufacturing, information services and products, and professional, scientific and technical services — accounted for 3,600 of the 4,800 jobs the region created in September, or an astonishing 75 percent, according to an analysis supplied by Beacon Economics.
In the San Francisco metro area, tech industries accounted for 1,200 of the 2,100 jobs added in September. And in the East Bay, the tech sector generated 1,900 of the 4,700 jobs the region added last month.
“The technology sector is very strong, and those job gains are expanding,” Anderson said. “It’s not just Santa Clara County, but we’re seeing tech growth in San Francisco that we never had, and we’re also seeing it in the East Bay.”
Yet it’s more than just tech. Plenty of other industries also were strong in the Bay Area in September.
In Santa Clara County, retail added 600 positions and hotels and restaurants gained 600 jobs. San Francisco-San Mateo-Marin gained 900 construction jobs and 1,000 retail positions. The East Bay retail sector gained 1,000 jobs, although construction was weak and lost 500.
“The pace of job growth might slow a little next year, but we expect it to be in the range of 3 percent on an annual basis, which is still very strong,” Michael said.
Contact George Avalos at 408-859-5167. Follow him at Twitter.com/georgeavalos.
