Silicon Valley’s stalled economic engine
02/18/2010 8:31:00 PM
The numbers are not pretty , reflecting the absence of a primary driver in the tech arena.
Jobs – Between November 2008 and November 2009, employment in Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties dropped 6.1 percent, compared to 3.8 percent nationally. Silicon Valley lost 90,000 jobs between the second quarter of 2008 and 2009, bringing total employment down to 2005 levels. The “green” economy accounted for 12,000 jobs in the region.
Venture capital funding plummeted, and office vacancy rates were up 33% percent in 2009.
Workers took a 5% cut in income between 2007 and 2009.
Competition for talent with China and India, among other geographies.