High-tech employment in Silicon Valley, 2001 and 2008

Between 2001 and 2008, employment in high-tech industries in Silicon Valley (in the southern portion of California's San Francisco Bay Area) declined by about 17 percent, representing a loss of slightly more than 85,000 jobs.

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Of the 11 high-tech industries, 8 experienced employment declines and 3 industries—pharmaceuticals, aerospace, and scientific research—exhibited employment growth during the 2001 to 2008 period.

In 2008, employment in Silicon Valley high-tech industries ranged from 99,224 jobs in the computer system design industry to 11,583 jobs in the communication equipment manufacturing industry.

Average wages grew by nearly 36 percent in these industries during the 2001–2008 period.

These data are from the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) program and they appear, along with other QCEW data, in "After the Dot-Com Bubble: Silicon Valley High-Tech Employment and Wages in 2001 and 2008," BLS Regional Report, Summary 09-08, August 2009. In this analysis, Silicon Valley is defined as Alameda, Contra Costa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, and Santa Cruz counties, in California.