EMPLOYMENT GROWTH IN THE SACRAMENTO REGION, THE BAY AREA, CALIFORNIA, AND THE UNITED STATES

March 2007

EMPLOYMENT GROWTH IN THE SACRAMENTO REGION, THE BAY AREA, CALIFORNIA, AND THE UNITED STATES

The Sacramento Region continued to post modest job growth in February 2007 with an employment growth rate between the statewide and national averages.

The six-county Sacramento Region posted 1.6 percent job growth in February 2007 with a year-over-year gain of 14,800 jobs. The Region’s job growth has fallen below the statewide average for the past two months due to a recent pattern of slight decreases in job growth since October 2006 and an uptick in the state’s employment growth rates. This recent pattern is a result of slower growth in nearly every major sector in the Region’s economy with Trade, Transportation, & Utilities; Leisure & Hospitality; and Other Services seeing the most significant slowdowns. The Bay Area’s growth rates have consistently exceeded the Sacramento Region since August 2006. Despite a few periods of considerable declines, with the exception of a couple months, the Region has seen job growth above the national average for the past 12 months. For most of late 2006 and into early 2007, the Region has experienced modest job growth.

Like the Sacramento Region, the state posted declining job growth from June 2006 through September 2006 then experienced a brief increase followed by another period of generally decreasing rates. At the beginning of 2007, the state showed a notable improvement, but experienced slower growth in February 2007. Between February 2006 and 2007, the state saw 1.7 percent growth reflecting an increase of 252,100 jobs.

Since early 2006, the nation has experienced a consistent pattern of slightly declining job growth. In February 2007, the nation posted its lowest year-over-year employment growth rate since late 2004 (1.5 percent with a gain of close to 2 million jobs). Over the past year, the nation saw stronger job growth than the state only during three brief periods and has fallen behind again in early 2007.

The Bay Area has experienced a generally increasing job growth trend since April 2006. For the past 6 months, the Bay Area’s employment growth rate pattern has been similar to the state, but with much stronger rates. After a peak in January 2007 of 2.6 percent (a level that the Bay Area hasn’t seen since 2001), the Bay Area’s job growth dropped back to 2.2 percent (with a gain of 61,900 jobs). The Bay Area’s job growth has surpassed both the statewide and national averages since May 2006.

Job Growth
Sacramento Region, Bay Area, California, and United States


Sacramento Regional Research Institute, March 2007

Data Sources: Employment Development Department and Bureau of Labor Statistics

Notes: Sacramento Region includes Sacramento-Arden Arcade-Roseville and Yuba City MSAs.

Bay Area includes the Oakland-Fremont-Hayward MD, San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood

City MD, and San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara MSA.

Job growth reflects year-over-year Nonfarm employment growth rates.





Major Sector Employment Gains and Losses
Sacramento Region, California, and Bay Area


Sacramento Regional Research Institute, March 2007

Data Source: Employment Development Department




The Sacramento Region’s Government sector continued to contribute the most jobs among all major sectors while job losses persisted in the Manufacturing and Construction sectors.

The Sacramento Region’s Government; Educational & Health Services; and Leisure & Hospitality sectors added the most jobs between February 2006 and 2007. These three sectors contributed 11,300 jobs to the Region’s net job gain (about 76 percent). Manufacturing and Construction were the only sectors to experience year-over-year losses (both of these sectors made relatively healthy contributions to the Region’s economy through much of 2005 and 2006). Financial Activities posted positive growth overall, but the Real Estate component continued to see job losses, demonstrating the ongoing drag of housing-related activities on the Region’s economy.

Professional & Business Services; Trade, Transportation, & Utilities; and Educational & Health Services posted the largest job gains in the state over the past 12 months. Together, these three sectors added 159,200 jobs (over 63 percent of the net gain). Manufacturing and Construction also lost jobs at the statewide level, but, unlike the Sacramento Region, Information shed jobs as well.

Professional & Business Services; Educational & Health Services; and Leisure & Hospitality saw the greatest employment gains in the Bay Area with a combined increase of 39,100 jobs (approximately 63 percent of the net gain). Unlike the state and the Sacramento Region, every sector in the Bay Area added jobs between February 2006 and 2007 (this marks the third straight month of year-over-year gains in all sectors).


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