The South Bay reached record employment in July, adding 3,300 jobs even as California shed 20,500 positions and the Bay Area’s technology sector continued to contract, new state figures show.
The South Bay reported 1,175,200 jobs last month, its highest total on record. Hiring there and in the East Bay helped the broader Bay Area gain 2,300 jobs, rebounding from a loss of 5,600 in June, according to the state Employment Development Department.
The South Bay’s 1.7% job growth over the past year outpaced the Bay Area, California and the nation.
Educational services drove much of the South Bay’s July growth, adding 2,000 jobs. The region also gained 1,000 construction jobs and 1,400 government positions, primarily in state and local government.
But the gains came despite continued weakness in the industry most closely associated with Silicon Valley. The South Bay lost 800 tech jobs in July, part of a regionwide decline of 4,400 positions, according to seasonally adjusted estimates Beacon Economics derived from the state report.
“The job growth in Silicon Valley is consistent with the report that California so far this year has received more new venture capital funding than all the other states combined,” said Steve Levy, director of the Palo Alto-based Center for Continuing Study of the California Economy. “The job and venture capital gains are good news, though it remains to be seen how they will filter down to low-and-moderate wage workers.”
Elsewhere in the region, the East Bay added 1,100 jobs while the San Francisco-San Mateo area lost 1,400. Solano County gained 200 jobs and Marin County added 100, but Sonoma County lost 900 and Napa County shed 100. All the metro and statewide figures were adjusted for seasonal volatility.
“While the overall Bay Area continues its up-and-down job trajectory, the South Bay has produced remarkably consistent employment growth dating back to late 2024,” said Jeff Bellisario, executive director of the Bay Area Council Economic Institute.
Downtown Oakland and the Port of Oakland, as see in a drone view in July 2026. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)
Over the 12 months ending in July, job totals rose 0.7% in both the Bay Area and the San Francisco-San Mateo region, 0.02% in the East Bay, 0.6% in California and 0.2% nationwide, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
“The Bay Area labor market regained its footing in July, bucking a deteriorating state and national performance last month,” said Scott Anderson, chief U.S. economist for BMO Capital Markets.
California’s loss of 20,500 jobs in July marked the second time in three months that statewide employment declined, the EDD reported.
The state’s unemployment rate nevertheless improved to 5.1% in July from 5.2% in June, largely because fewer people were participating in the labor market.
“The state unemployment rate went down, but only because workers departed the labor market,” Michael Bernick, an employment attorney with law firm Duane Morris and a former director of the state EDD, said. “The decline (in the labor force) reflects retirements, immigration policies, and the decline in labor force participation among working-age men.”
An estimated 70,300 workers exited California’s labor pool in July, bringing the decline over the past year to 286,300 workers, state figures show.
Tech employment fell across each of the Bay Area’s three largest metro areas. The San Francisco-San Mateo region and the East Bay each lost 1,700 tech jobs, while Marin and Sonoma counties each shed 100, Beacon calculated.
Other industries helped offset those losses. Educational services added an estimated 3,200 jobs across the Bay Area, including 500 in the San Francisco-San Mateo region, 400 in Sonoma County and 300 in Solano County.
Bay Area hotels and restaurants added 1,500 jobs in July amid the midsummer travel season and World Cup soccer matches and watch parties. Healthcare, which has been a consistent source of growth for about two years, added another 600 jobs.
Still, experts cautioned that the artificial intelligence boom might generate investment and wealth without producing the broad hiring associated with previous waves of technological innovation. Anderson said population and labor-force declines, along with the Bay Area’s high housing costs, are weakening both the supply of workers and demand for them in many traditional industries.
“Our long-term trends suggest that our Silicon Valley engine isn’t generating the same type of explosive job growth that we have seen with previous waves of innovation,” said Russell Hancock, president of Joint Venture Silicon Valley, a San Jose-based think tank.