Silicon Valley Employment Trends

Research Brief

Silicon Valley Employment Trends

September 2017

Silicon Valley job growth continued through the fourth quarter of 2016 – reaching an all-time high of 1.62 million workers – albeit at a slower pace than the rapid gains of the post-recession recovery period and subsequent booming growth-period of 2013-2015. Unemployment rates in May 2017 hit a low not seen since the dot.com boom. And although job growth continued, 2016 growth was uneven with respect to wage/skill levels, and the wage gap between Tier 1 and Tier 3 jobs continued to increase. Furthermore, although the Q4 2016 data indicates that the region’s “tech” jobs were on pace for nearly 4% growth over the past year, the actual growth rate will likely be lower than that due to large layoffs at some of the region’s major tech companies.

Charts/tables featured in this report:

Figure 1. Total Silicon Valley Employment, 2001-2016
Figure 2. Silicon Valley Labor Force, 2010-2017
Figure 3. Monthly Unemployment Rate, 2000-2017
Figure 4. Silicon Valley Employment by Tier
Figure 5. San Francisco Employment by Tier
Figure 6. Silicon Valley Employment Share by Tier
Figure 7. San Francisco Employment Share by Tier
Table 1. Yearly Earnings by Tier, Q1 2017
Figure 8. Employment by Industry Category, 2007-2016
Table 2. Silicon Valley Industry Employment
Figure 9. Employment by Industry Category & Tier, Q4 2016
Table 3. Silicon Valley Layoffs Effective 7/1/2016 – 6/30/2017
Figure 10. Employment in Key Tier 2 Manufacturing