Leisure Bay Manufacturing

Valley sees steady growth in tech sector

Strong May job gains in the South Bay's tech sector cemented Silicon Valley's leading role in the economic recovery of the Bay Area and California, a state report released Friday shows.

The unemployment rate in Santa Clara County dropped from 9.9 percent in April to 9.7 percent in May, the state Employment Development Department reported. That's the lowest it has been in more than two years.

San Mateo County's unemployment rate remained at 8.1 percent. It was the sixth straight month that county's jobless rate has been below what it was the year before. The county consistently enjoys one of the lowest jobless rates in the state.

The valley's computer and electronic products manufacturing sector still has to gain back some 70,000 jobs to reach levels it enjoyed during the dot-com boom. But the smaller information sector, which includes Internet service providers, Web portals and data processors, surpassed its dot-com job level in May, with about 48,000 jobs.

The growth in tech hiring has rapidly expanding companies scrambling to find increasingly scarce engineering talent, and starting to add personnel in sales and marketing.

"The economy is in a hyper-growth phase," said Scott Schwarzhoff, vice president of developer relations and marketing at Appcelerator.

In October, Appcelerator, which makes a popular mobile development platform, had 17 employees. It now has 70 and plans to add 50 more this year, said Schwarzhoff. It has moved twice, and is now in a 25,000-square-foot building in Mountain View.

Companies in mobile, social, cloud and "contextware," or information management computing, are drawing on an "increasingly tighter and tighter pool of talent," Schwarzhoff said. The demand is drawing people to the valley from out of state and from other countries, he said.

What the valley is seeing in company growth is unique, said Tim Guleri, managing partner of Sierra Ventures, which has invested in Appcelerator.

"It's never been the case that there have been three billion-dollar-plus markets that have been created simultaneously," he said. The leaders in these markets -- mobile, social and cloud computing -- "are just exploding" with both revenue and demand from customers. "That's what's causing hiring needs and the growth," he said.

Nonfarm job growth

The San Jose metro area added 1,900 nonfarm jobs in May, much of that growth in the computer, computer software and Internet industries. The total nonfarm growth is less than the 21-year average for May, but the upward trend in tech is clear.

Unemployment numbers edge downward but remain high – North Bay ...

(UPDATED 1:35  p.m. with Beacon Economics comments) NORTH BAY — Unemployment rates across the North Bay continued to edge downward from historically high levels, as hospitality and leisure continued to add seasonal jobs in most counties, according to figures released from the state Employment Development Department.

Sonoma County’s unemployment rate in May was 9.4 percent, down from the previous month at 9.9 percent and below the year-ago estimate of 10 percent. The county added 3,700 jobs over the course of one month, with significant gains in manufacturing, which includes wineries, at 700 jobs, leisure and hospitality at 600 jobs and construction and trade, transportation and utilities at 400 apiece. Sonoma County added 1,800 jobs over the year, the only county to do so across the North Coast.

Marin County continued to post the lowest rate in California, with unemployment at 7.4 percent in May, down from 7.6 percent in April and 9 percent a year ago. Industry specifics aren’t available for Marin, which is part of a three-county West Bay Region that includes San Francisco and San Mateo counties. Across that region, leisure and hospitality posted 1,300 jobs, below the average gain for this time of year of 1,900 jobs.

Napa County dropped from 9.6 percent in April to 8.7 percent in May, down from the year-ago estimate of 9 percent.  Leisure and hospitality added 100 jobs over the previous month and 400 over the course of the year, while trade, transportation and utilities added 200 jobs from April to May. Manufacturing was flat over the past month, but has posted 300 jobs over the year.

Solano County’s rate edged down from 11.5 percent in April to 11.3 percent in May, below the year ago rate of 11.6 percent. Monthly growth occurred in trade, transportation and utilities, construction and manufacturing, posting 100 jobs apiece

Mendocino County’s dropped a full point, from 11.6 percent in April to 10.6 percent in May, but only slightly down from the year-ago estimate of 10.8 percent. Farming added the most positions over the month, with 250, while mining and logging added 100 and leisure and hospitality added 80 jobs.

Likewise in Lake County, monthtly growth in farming helped the county see the biggest decrease in unemployment, though the rate remained well above that of its North Coast neighbors, at 16.8 percent in May compared to 18.2 percent in April and just below the year-ago rate of 17.1 percent. Farming adding 450 jobs, while government added 130 positions — bucking the trend of its neighboring counties, which either cut or had no change  in government jobs.

Lexis Nexis corporate affiliations

Billiards, the official rules and records book

Billiards, The Official Rules & Records

Consuming tradition, manufacturing heritage, global norms and urban forms in the age of tourism

Maritime Bay County