The Bay Area economy added jobs at a sturdy pace in June, raising hopes that the region’s employment picture is turning brighter after being jolted by losses back in March, a new state government report released Friday shows.
The employment gains in the Bay Area were robust enough that the nine-county region produced nearly four out of five of all the jobs added in California in June, the state Employment Development Department reported Friday.
The Bay Area gained 9,200 jobs in June, powered by robust gains in the Santa Clara County area, according to the state EDD’s regular monthly employment report.
After losing jobs in March, the Bay Area has now gained employment for three consecutive months, although the increase in June was somewhat weaker than the upswing in May.
“The Bay Area is once again assuming the outsized employment role it played throughout much of the 2021 and 2022 recovery in California, as a main driver of job growth,” said Michael Bernick, an employment attorney with law firm Duane Morris and a former director of the state EDD.
The South Bay added 4,700 jobs in June, while the San Francisco-San Mateo region gained 3,100 jobs and the East Bay increased employment by 1,100 positions, according to the EDD report. All of the numbers were adjusted for seasonal volatility.
“These numbers suggest that we’ve pulled through a period of adjustment, and we’re poised now for liftoff,” said Russell Hancock, president of Joint Venture Silicon Valley, a San Jose-based think tank.
California added a relatively puny 11,600 jobs — which means the Bay Area accounted for 79% of all the jobs added in the state last month. This also means that Santa Clara Coumty alone produced 40% of the jobs added in California during June.
The statewide unemployment rate worsened and increased to 4.6% in June, up from 4.5% in May.
As a result of the June job gains, the Bay Area and all three of it major urban centers — the South Bay, East Bay and San Francisco-San Mateo region — now have a record number of jobs.
The Bay Area and the three big metro regions also now have completely erased the job losses that they suffered at the onset of the coronavirus outbreak three years ago.
The overall trends for the job market in the Bay Area appear to be encouraging again — at least for now.
“Our job numbers may not always progress in a straight line, especially when you watch them month-to-month, but our long-term trend is up and to the right,” Hancock said.