Job growth lags since last year

Layoffs in San Mateo County have certainly cooled since the start of the year — dropping by 70% between the first to second halves —  but large employers, such as Visa and Gilead, were still announcing layoffs last month. 

According to the most recent data from the state Employment Development Department, jobs in San Francisco and San Mateo counties within the professional, technical and scientific sectors fell by 3,200 between last month and the previous November. 

Sarah Bohn, economist at the Public Policy Institute of California, said the area’s recovery is taking longer than expected. 

“It’s continuing to be a bit worse in California and a bit worse in the Bay Area and in particular in San Mateo County,” Bohn said. “I’m not yet seeing that it seems like we’ve turned a corner and it's picking back up. It's been at best a low employment growth scenario.”

National jobs reports from October were less favorable than anticipated, but many experts attributed the figures to delayed impacts from summertime labor strikes and hurricanes. But the Bay Area, as well as the rest of California, seems to be continuing its recovery path well into the fourth quarter.  

Likely due to the holidays, retail drove a large amount of job growth in November on the Peninsula and San Francisco. Health care and education also saw substantial growth, though that trend is also applicable throughout many parts of the state and country. 

“Health care has been growing a lot since the pandemic and even before the pandemic, especially as the population continues to age,” Bohn said. 

While the Bay Area is still the epicenter of artificial intelligence — largely concentrated in San Francisco —  the county sees only a fraction of the funding. 

Bohn said there are some improvements, albeit slow, though inflation remains a concern for many residents. Uncertainty also lingers at a macro level, as the Federal Reserve recently cut interest rates, though indicated only a couple cuts are in store next year. 

“What I've seen and heard is that a lot of what has been happening was a readjustment, like overhiring right out of the pandemic,” Bohn said. “If that is the real explanation then that wouldn't happen forever. At some point, that kind of a readjustment would just stabilize.”

alyse@smdailyjournal.com

(650) 344-5200 ext. 102