In March, the EDD recalculated their employment estimates using a more accurate sample and discovered much more serious employment losses in San Francisco and San Jose than previously reported. Since hitting its peak in March 2001, payroll employment dropped 10.7% in San Francisco and 16.2% in San Jose, compared to previous estimates of 6.4% and 10.5%, respectively. The impact of these job losses fell upon many Alameda and Contra Costa County residents, as the East Bay is home to over one-third of the Bay Area’s workforce.
The unsettled nature of the current economy has resulted in some unexpected trends in the employment market. Manufacturing has lost over 20,000 jobs since the beginning of 2001 and Professional Services over 15,000, yet employment in the Leisure sector has risen by almost 4,500 jobs. The Financial Services sector has risen a similar amount due to widespread mortgage refinancing. Employment has risen in the Education & Health and Government sectors, though the State budgetary crisis is likely to result in employment losses in these sectors in the coming months and years.
For more industry specific employment data, please click here.
Despite recent price increases in Contra Costa County, the regional housing market has been growing more affordable since the summer. Still, the market is extremely tight in the Bay Area and across the state. The California Association of Realtors reports that the minimum household income needed to purchase a median-priced California home at the March average cost of $352,780 was $82,470, based on a typical 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage at 5.80 percent and assuming a 20 percent down payment. That same home sold for $305,840 in March 2002 and required an annual household income of $78,130.
The median number of days (Statewide) it took for a single-family home to sell in March 2003 was 28, and the unsold inventory index (an indication of how long it would take to deplete the stock of available homes if selling were to continue at the current rate) was 2.8 months. Thirty-year fixed mortgage rates averaged 5.75%, down from 7.07% in March 2002. Homes cost 5.7% more than in March 2002, with sales down 16.9% in the same period of time.
For more information on the housing market, click here.
In March, Brentwood permitted $7.4 million in new stores, Oakland $4.0 million, Antioch $2.4 million, Hayward $2.0 million, and Livermore $1.0 million. Oakland also permitted $4.0 million worth of new office buildings, and in February the City of Alameda permitted $5.3 million worth of educational buildings (schools, libraries, or museums).
Continuing 2002’s trend, the permitting of new housing in the East Bay has primarily taken place in Contra Costa County, with a strong contribution by the City of Oakland in multi-family permitting.
For more information on construction, click here.
Inflation fell in April after jumping sharply in prior months. With the Middle East turmoil and fears of oil shortages, gasoline prices skyrocketed in the first months of 2003, contributing to the increase in energy costs that largely drove the CPI spike.
