Unemployment rate falls across Bay Area as jobs begin to reappear
Posted: 10/21/2011 01:05:46 PM PDT
The Associated Press contributed to this report
Silicon Valley's unemployment rate continued to decline in September, falling below 10 percent thanks to a large gain in technology jobs, as the entire Bay Area saw large drops in the number of jobless residents and built an even larger employment chasm between the region and the rest of the state.
The San Jose metropolitan area's unemployment rate fell to 9.6 percent from a revised 10 percent in August, the state's Employment Development Department reported Friday. The regional report combines the South Bay counties of Santa Clara and San Benito, and they produced a net addition of 900 jobs in September, with the largest gain -- 2,300 jobs -- coming in professional and business services. Within that sector, which the EDD said usually does not increase at this time of year, computer systems design and related services accounted for most of the increase, with an increase of 1,800 jobs, showing that the region's technology industry is driving growth.
Unemployment rates also showed a healthy drop in the rest of the Bay Area:
-- The Oakland metropolitan area, which combines Alameda and Contra Costa counties, dropped from 10.6 percent to 10.1 percent. Individually, Alameda County fell from 10.7 to 10.2 percent and Contra Costa County fell from 10.6 percent to 10.1. Most of that gain stemmed from a seasonal adjustment, as 4,800 public and private school teaching jobs were created.
-- The San Francisco metropolitan area, which includes San Francisco, San Mateo and Marin counties, fell from 8.5 percent to 8 percent, putting it ahead of the national rate, which has been stuck near 9 percent for two years. Marin County continued to lead the region with a rate of 7.4 percent, down from 7.9 percent.
San Mateo County fell from 8.3 percent to 8 percent and San Francisco dipped from 8.8 percent to 8.3 percent. The S.F. metro area also enjoyed a large gain in professional and business services, which jumped by 2,200 jobs in a period that historically has shown a 500-job loss.
-- Santa Cruz County enjoyed a similar drop to the rest of the Bay Area, from a revised 10.7 percent in August to 10.1 percent in September.
-- Santa Clara County's individual unemployment rate fell from 9.9 percent to 9.6, while San Benito County enjoyed a large drop from 12.8 percent to 11.6 percent.
One of the hardest hit employment sectors in recent years has been construction, which fell along with the housing industry after the economy collapsed in 2008. However, construction jobs grew in the San Jose and San Francisco metropolitan areas in September, with the South Bay adding a whopping 1,000 construction jobs in a month when there is historically not much growth in that sector, the EDD reported.
California's unemployment rate dropped as well, from 12.1 to 11.9 percent, the U.S. Labor Department reported. However, the state continues to lag behind the Bay Area and the rest of the nation in getting people back to work after the Great Recession. California's rate is still the second highest in the nation behind only Nevada.
The California EDD does not seasonally adjust the unemployment rates, as the federal government does, so it reported California's unemployment rate as 11.4 percent.
Nationwide, employers added 103,000 net jobs in September, nearly double the number created in August. And the number of people applying for unemployment benefits fell last week to a six-month low, according to a four-week average calculated by the government. That has helped calm fears that the economy was sliding into another recession, as have other recent data.
Unemployment rates fell in 25 states last month; it rose in 14 and stayed the same in 11. Unemployment rose in 26 states in August.
Nevada's unemployment rate stayed 13.4 percent, highest in the nation for the 16th straight month. North Dakota had the lowest unemployment rate, staying at 3.5 percent for the second straight month.
Still, hiring remains sluggish. The national unemployment rate has been stuck near 9 percent for more than two years. Employers pulled back on hiring this spring after seeing less demand from consumers. Higher food and gas prices forced consumers to rein in spending.
Employers have added an average of only 72,000 jobs per month in the past five months. That's down from an average of 180,000 in the first four months of this year and far from what is needed to lower the unemployment rate.
In September, 24 states added jobs and one state saw no net change in hiring. The other half of U.S. states lost jobs. That's better than August, when 30 states lost jobs.
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