Santa Clara County has nation’s strongest job market — by far

Geez, what a surprise! The silicon valley has the strongest job growth in the country according to a report from the federal government. For the most part, this is why there is a housing shortage, which is why rent here in the valley is the highest in the nation and why the housing market still remains hot. One thing the article below doesn't point out, dare I say, is that many of these jobs are going to foreign H1B visa workers, not bay area and silicon valley natives - just saying.


Photo: Employee cafe on the Google campus. Photo credit: BANG staff photo

Santa Clara County has nation’s strongest job market — by far

Santa Clara County boasts the nation’s strongest job market, and the South Bay region is No. 1 by a wide margin over its closest contenders, a new report out Tuesday from the federal government shows.

Over the 12 months that ended in July, total payroll employment in Santa Clara County increased 6.2 percent, by far the fastest pace of job growth in the United States, according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The Tacoma-Lakewood area of Washington state was the next-strongest job market, with a gain of 5 percent in total jobs over the same one-year period.

Tied for third were the San Francisco-San Mateo County region and the Salt Lake City area, which both grew at an annual pace for job growth of 4.4 percent.

The top five strongest job markets was rounded out by the Orlando region in Florida and the Dallas-Irving-Plano area of Texas, both up 4.1 percent.

The East Bay had a gain of 2.2 percent in its job totals.

Santa Clara County’s status as the nation’s hottest job market is being driven by what appears to be explosive growth in the region’s technology sector, according to a Beacon Economics analysis of figures from the state Employment Development Department.

Over the most recent 12 months that ended in July, high-tech jobs accounted for 30,800 of the 60,400 jobs that Santa Clara County added — or 51 percent of the total.

The San Francisco-San Mateo area is even more dependent on high-tech for its economic expansion. During the same one-year-period in question, tech jobs accounted for 25,800 of the 41,700 total payroll jobs added in that region — 62 percent of the total.

The East Bay’s job growth appears to much more diversified. Tech jobs produced 5,460 of the 21,300 jobs added over the 12 months that ended in July — 21 percent of the total.

Source: Silicon Beat, George Avalos
http://www.siliconbeat.com/2015/09/01/santa-clara-county-has-nations-strongest-job-market-by-far/