East Bay continues to be a jobs powerhouse

Posted on Fri, Jul. 21, 2006
EAST BAY BIZ BUZZ

East Bay continues to be a jobs powerhouse

By George Avalos
CONTRA COSTA TIMES

The East Bay job market showed no signs of a slowdown in June, as it accounted for a huge chunk of the jobs created in the Bay Area and California during the last 12 months.

What's more, this is an expansion being fueled by businesses, an analysis of the job trends in the Alameda-Contra Costa region shows. The private sector has powered the growth of the East Bay economy, and the government sector has become a virtual non-factor in the expansion.

The employment gains in the East Bay are so strong that the region accounted for 55 percent of the new jobs in the Bay Area during the 12 months that ended in June. The East Bay also produced 10 percent of the jobs created in the entire state over the year.

"The East Bay is looking quite good," said Howard Roth, chief economist with the state's Department of Finance. "The East Bay is one of the strongest regions in the state."

Over the 12 months that ended in June, the number of jobs in the East Bay grew 2.4 percent. That was far ahead of the 1.6 percent growth rate for all of California during the same period.

"Labor markets continue to be pretty healthy in the East Bay, and the growth in that region is feeding over into other parts of the Central Valley," said Sean Snaith, director, of the Stockton-based Business Forecasting Center at University of the Pacific. "Certainly, Stockton has benefited from the growth of the East Bay, and to a lesser extent, Stanislaus County has gained as well."