Bay Watch: A Weekly Look into the Bay Area Economy
July 26th, 2024
Bay Area job growth slowed in June but still positive
The Bay Area economy experienced modest growth in June 2024, although the gains were less pronounced than those in the previous month. According to the latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the region added 2,200 jobs on a net basis in June. Despite this increase, total employment in the Bay Area remains 1.3% below pre-pandemic levels, reflecting ongoing post-pandemic related challenges and economic disruptions. Meanwhile, national and statewide employment levels have surpassed pre-pandemic figures by approximately 1.5% and 0.8% respectively.
While the Bay Area saw a net gain in June, this growth represented a slowdown from the significant surge in May, which saw an increase of 5,500 jobs. The job market's uneven performance early in the year was characterized by net job losses between January and April, making the recent gains a positive, albeit gradual, improvement. The sectors contributing to June's job growth included education, government, and leisure and hospitality, each playing a critical role in the region's recovery. These sectors' resilience has been pivotal in offsetting losses in other areas such as information technology and retail trade .
The economic recovery of the Bay Area continues to be dominated by a strong rise in education, government, and leisure job gains, with education seeing strong gains since pandemic related losses began over four years ago. In fact, the education and health sector (which includes which includes most teachers, nurses, and other medical professionals) still stands at 60,500 jobs above pre-pandemic levels, with manufacturing respectively both also posting gains over their pre-pandemic levels. Manufacturing is still down 10,300 jobs in the last 12 months, however. The information and retail and trade sectors continue to sit far below pre-pandemic levels, and both saw slight losses between May and June although retail trade remains at net positive growth when aggregated over the last 12 months.