The steady leakage of jobs – nearly three-fourths from technology companies – in the Bay Area continued in February and March, according to the state Employment Development Department. About half of the tech layoffs –nearly 2,500 – were in Santa Clara County.
At the same time, as the layoffs continued a six-month trend of Silicon Valley downsizing, overall statewide employment slipped slightly, unemployment claims grew and the total number of unemployed Californians grew to 840,500 in February, up 26,700 over January.
Bay Area counties, despite the tech layoffs, registered the lowest unemployment rates in the state in February, the most recent month available, with San Mateo at 2.8%, San Francisco at 2.9%, Santa Clara and Marin at 3.1% and Alameda at 3.7%. The statewide unemployment rate stood at 4.3% in February, according to the EDD.
A total of 18,496,800 Californians reported for work in February., down 5,400 from January, but up 195,000 from February 2022.
Based on the WARN notices required of any employer laying off 50 or more people, in the period Feb. 1 through March 23, Security Industry Specialists in Cupertino led the way in the region with 416 permanent layoffs, followed by LAM Research with 400 layoffs in Fremont and Livermore. PayPal reported 219 layoffs in San Jose, while Genentech reported 271 in South San Francisco and Salesforce reported 313 layoffs and Atlassian 268, both in San Francisco.
Of the more than 3,200 layoffs reported by all firms in Santa Clara County in February and March, nearly 2,500 were at technology companies.
San Francisco companies reported 1,762 layoffs in WARN notices, 1,375 at technology firms. Alameda County reported layoff notices sent to by companies to 915 workers, 597 in tech jobs, and San Mateo County companies reported 867 layoffs in February and March, 497 at tech firms. Tech giants Microsoft, eBay and SAP also reported layoffs.
Other monthly highlights, from EDD:
- Since the current economic expansion began in April 2020, California has gained 3,051,600 jobs, a monthly average of 89,753 jobs gained over that time.
- Eight of California’s 11 industry sectors gained jobs in February with Private Education & Health Services leading the way
- Leisure & Hospitality again enjoyed strong month-over gains, thanks largely to Limited-Service Restaurants and Other Eating Places, as well as gains in Performing Arts, Spectator Sports, and Related Industries
- Information (which includes tech firms) was the only industry sector to see a reduction in February 2023.
Note: The employment data for the month of February 2023 is taken from the survey week including Feb. 12. Data for the month of March is scheduled for release on April 21. Unemployment dates based on a sample week of Feb. 19.
