Bay Area job market rallies in October

Strong gains appear throughout the region and most of California

The Bay Area job market last month delivered its strongest gains in eight months, raising hopes that the region’s economy might finally be starting to shake off the economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic.

The region added 21,100 jobs in October, powered by big increases in Santa Clara County and the San Francisco-San Mateo region along with sturdy gains in the East Bay, the state Employment Development Department reported Friday.

“This is more in line with what we have been long expecting,” said Russell Hancock, president of Joint Venture Silicon Valley, a San Jose-based think tank. “It just took us longer to get here than we thought.”

The employment improvement was the Bay Area’s best showing since March, when it gained 23,900 jobs, this news organization’s analysis of the new EDD report shows.

Jeffrey Michael, executive director of the University of the Pacific’s Stockton-based Center for Business and Policy Research, said the region’s job gains were led by business, scientific and technical services — “the traditional strengths of the Bay Area’s tech and information economy.”

Santa Clara County added 8,100 jobs, the San Francisco-San Mateo region gained 8,700 jobs, while the East Bay added 2,300 positions. All the numbers were adjusted for seasonal variations. California, meanwhile, added 96,800 jobs last month and the statewide unemployment rate improved slightly to 7.3%, down from 7.5% in September.

“The Bay Area economy is back on track with strong job gains both in September and October,” said Stephen Levy, director of the Palo Altobased Center for Continuing Study of the California Economy. Initially, the EDD estimated that September job gains in the Bay Area were 11,800, a significant drop in the pace of recovery. But the state has since revised those numbers, reporting 18,200 employment gains in September — 6,400 more than first reported.