Bay Area Adds Nearly 14,000 Jobs in January

The Bay Area economy zoomed out of the starting blocks in January by adding nearly 14,000 jobs, according to a new state government report issued Friday.

Meanwhile, employers nationwide added 227,000 payroll jobs in February, although the U.S. jobless rate remained unchanged at 8.3 percent, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday. Last month's upswing follows a gain of 284,000 jobs in January. The two months of steady hiring nationwide are a strong indication that robust job growth in the Bay Area will continue.

"The economy is gaining momentum," said Brad Kemp, director of regional research with Beacon Economics. "I do think things are turning the corner."

In contrast to the Bay Area and national trends, California struggled in January, a report released Friday by the Employment Development Department showed.

Statewide, employers cut 5,200 jobs, although the jobless rate improved to 10.9 percent in January, down from 11.2 percent in December and the lowest rate since April 2009.

"The Bay Area is leading the state, it has been running ahead of the state, and the gap has even widened," said Jeffrey Michael, director of the Stockton-based Business Forecasting Center at University of the Pacific.

Perhaps the most encouraging development in the Bay Area employment picture was the gain of 9,300 jobs in the East Bay, which accounted for two-thirds of the 13,800 jobs added in the Bay Area in January.

"What is striking about the numbers is the job growth in the East Bay," said Michael Bernick, a San Francisco-based research fellow with the Milken Institute, and a former EDD director. "The South Bay has had dramatic job growth, the San Francisco metro area has had high job growth, but the East Bay has been lagging."

The East Bay upswing means all three of the Bay Area's major metro areas are poised to expand in tandem.

"The good news is no longer limited to the South Bay, which is growing strongly," Michael said. "The San Francisco area is showing solid growth. It's been a tough four or five years for the East Bay, but this month was a big positive."

The East Bay's jobs uptick follows a string of economic calamities over the past two years, including the shutdown of an auto plant and solar factor, and the continuing consequences of the housing meltdown.

"This January number is encouraging for the East Bay, although you have to see how it plays out," Michael said. "But it's time for the East Bay to come around."

The East Bay's job gains were led by a surge in an array of industries, according to a Beacon Economics analysis. Administrative support and temporary employment gained 2,200 jobs, retail added 2,100, construction was up 1,500, health care gained 1,400 and the tech-heavy professional scientific and technical services sector added 1,200 jobs.

In the South Bay, administrative support and temporary employment was up by 1,000 jobs, while professional, scientific and technical services gained 900.

Unemployment rates in the Bay Area have improved steadily. The South Bay jobless rate of 9.1 percent in January was down from 10.8 percent a year earlier. The East Bay jobless rate was 9.6 percent, compared with 11.1 percent a year ago, and the San Francisco-San Mateo-Marin region's rate was 7.5 percent, compared with 8.9 percent in January 2011.

The state's annual revision of previous estimates for job trends provided additional sparkle for the region's economic picture.

The Bay Area had 6,800 more jobs during 2011 than analysts thought initially, according to the EDD revision.

The South Bay had 1,600 additional jobs and the San Francisco metro area had 4,200 more jobs compared with the original data. The East Bay job market was a bit weaker than thought, with 800 fewer jobs.

"The strength in high-tech areas supports the finding that the state economy is continuing to recover with the largest gains in technology and foreign trade and in the urban coastal regions," said Steve Levy, director of the Palo Alto-based Center for Continuing Study of the California Economy.

With the gains in January, the Bay Area has now added jobs for six straight months.

"This is a trend and not a bend," Kemp said. "The Bay Area is doing better than most regions."