Employment gains and losses are a core means of tracking economic health and remain central to national, state, and regional conversations. Over the course of the past few decades Silicon Valley (like many other communities) has experienced shifts in the composition of industries that underlie the local economy. While employment by industry provides the broader picture of the region’s economy, observing the employment and unemployment rates of the population residing in the Valley reveals the status of the immediate Silicon Valley-based workforce. A large number of science and engineering jobs regionally indicates a local workforce equipped with strong skills that are valuable for generating new ideas and innovative products and services. The way in which the region’s occupational patterns change shows how well our economy is maintaining its position in the global economy.¹

Silicon Valley's residential employment (Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties) is increasing at a faster rate than the state and the nation. From December 2011 to December 2012, regional employment grew 3.6 percent compared to 1.7 percent in both the state and the nation. San Francisco slightly outpaced Silicon Valley's employment growth, reporting a 3.7 percent growth over the same time frame, adding over 15,900 jobs. Over the 12-month period, Silicon Valley added 42,360 jobs, bringing employment levels to 1.22 million overall. Unlike the state and the nation, the region's employment has surpassed pre-recession (December 2007) levels by 4.6 percent, while employment levels fell 1.9 in the state and 2.2 percent in the nation.

In the second quarter of 2012 the greater Silicon Valley (including Scotts Valley, Fremont, Newark, and Union City) registered a four percent increase in employment, the largest jump since Q2 2000.

Job growth cannot be attributed to any one industry; Silicon Valley made employment strides across all major areas of employment activity, except manufacturing and life sciences. From Q2 2011 to Q2 2012, Innovation & Specialized Services shot up seven percent and Community Infrastructure employment expanded three percent, adding nearly 26,000 new positions. The healthcare and social assistance sector has emerged as the third largest private industry sector in Santa Clara County, employing about ten percent of the county’s workers and creating a notable economic impact. ²

Unemployment rates in Santa Clara County improved across all race and ethnic backgrounds between 2010 and 2011, although ranging from 5.6 percent to ten percent. The region saw pronounced declines in the proportion of unemployed residents to the working age population in Other Races (-1.5%), Asian (-1.3%) and African American (-1.0%), though unemployment remained at least two percentage points above pre-recession levels. Unemployment rates in Silicon Valley similarly improved across all educational levels in 2011, except for residents with only a high school diploma. The unemployment rate for residents without a high school diploma dropped the most, though rates remained high at 8.3 percent. Residents with a bachelor's degree or higher witnessed a 0.8 percent drop in their unemployment rate, at 5.1 percent.

In 2011, Silicon Valley employed 204,560 individuals in Science and Engineering (S&E) industries, a four percent increase from eleven years prior. Regional science and engineering employment is concentrated within Computer and Physical Engineering, comprising 85 percent of overall S&E employment. Nationally, S&E talent has grown ten percent since 2000, while talent is divided more evenly across industries.

Unemployment rates continue to decline as the economy in Silicon Valley and the rest of the United States recovers from the recession. Unemployment rates have been trending downwards from an all time high in January 2010. Over the past year Silicon Valley's unemployment rate fell 1.1 percent to 7 percent in December 2012. The state reported a 1.2 percent drop, followed by the nation declining 0.7 percent. Despite these gains, full recovery is still a long way off; pre-recession unemployment rates in Silicon Valley were 4.3 percent.

According to a Brookings study, the San Jose metropolitan region's exports represented 18 percent of its total gross domestic product (GDP) in 2010, ranking it fourth out of the top 100 metro areas in the nation. Computer & Electronics exports constituted more than half (53.8%) of total exports, generating $12.24 billion of wealth for the region. ³

• Change in Residential Employment
• Total Employed Residents by Month
• Quarterly Job Growth
• Silicon Valley Major Areas of Economic Activity
• Unemployed Residents' Share of the Working Age Population (over 16)
• Unemployed Residents' Share of the Working Age Population (over 25)
• Science and Engeneering Talent by Category
• Monthly Unemployment Rate