Tech- heavy Santa Clara County sees job growth strongest in 14 years.

Best pace in at least 14 years, analysis of labor data shows

Santa Clara County’s pace of job growth is the strongest the region has enjoyed in at least 14 years, according to this newspaper’s analysis of new figures released by state labor officials.

Total jobs in tech- centric Santa Clara County are growing at an annual pace of 5.2 percent as of January, the most recent month on record available from the state Employment Development Department. The surge in job growth was revealed in the wake of an annual recalculation of employment statistics released by the state agency.

“This is a period of breakout job growth for Santa Clara County,” said Stephen Levy, director of the Palo Alto- based Center for Continuing Study of the California Economy. “This is the second- highest pace of annual job growth on record. The growth is persisting.”

The 5.2 percent yearly job- growth rate for Santa Clara County is the best since January 2001, when the region added jobs at a 5.4 percent annual rate.

“Santa Clara County is still poised for strong ongoing growth,” said Jordan Levine, director of economic research with Beacon Economics. “This is going to continue for some time.”

The East Bay also is experiencing strong annual job growth, although nothing close to the boom in the South Bay, an analysis of the EDD figures shows.

During the 12 months that ended in January, jobs in the East Bay expanded by 2.9 percent. The San Francisco- San Mateo area posted 4.7 percent annual growth, the EDD figures show.

By comparison, the California job market is growing at an annual rate of 3.2 percent, while the United States is expanding at a 2.3 percent pace, figures from the U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics show.

A spot check of the fastestgrowing metro areas nationwide shows that Santa Clara County is expanding its job totals at a much faster yearly pace than other metro regions in the country.

The Dallas- Fort Worth, Texas, area is expanding at a 4.6 percent annual rate, the Orlando, Florida, area is growing at 4.2 percent, and the Houston region is adding jobs at a 3.6 percent rate.

“The growth we are seeing in Santa Clara County is the same as what we saw during the dot- com boom, but this is real and it is continuing,” Levy said. “Today we have companies with billions of dollars in sales, thousands of employees, and hundreds of products that are sold nationwide.”

What’s more, Santa Clara County appears to be in the sort of growth spurt that is being bolstered by overall economic conditions.

“Consumers are spending, business investment remains strong, corporate profits are high, and venture capital is doing well,” Levine said. “All of those bode well for Santa Clara County.”