Bay Area Economic Staying Power Pulls in Investors

Central Park Plaza, a 300,000-square-foot office park, is located on Junction Avenue and Zanker Road.

SAN JOSE—The economic outlook for the greater Bay Area remains one of the strongest in the country, however, job growth continues to slow in the third quarter adding just 4,000 jobs year-over-year, a 0.72% increase. The unemployment rate increased 30 basis points since the second quarter to 2.4%, but is still ahead of the third quarter 2017 figure of 3.2%, perhaps a sign of the market’s bottoming out, according to a third-quarter office report by Transwestern.

In the Bay Area, unemployment rates increased 30 to 50 basis points in every county, with San Mateo County (2.3%) and Marin County (2.4%) remaining the top performing counties in California. Santa Clara County (2.6%), Alameda County (3.1%) and Contra Costa County (3.2%) are all below the national average of 3.9% and California’s average of 4.3% unemployment. The US economic outlook shows similar strength with the unemployment rate near its lowest point in almost 20 years and more job openings than available workers, however, there is a real concern that a labor shortage may slow further expansion.