Silicon Valley unemployment now at 11.8% (Sunnyvale: hotels, employment, tax)

[mrzod]

http://www.mercurynews.com/topstories/ci_12859265

This is higher than California's 11.4% unemployment for June. Any wagers when we'll see it return back to "normal" at 4-5% (which is economically speaking, considered full employment given frictional unemployment).

[frogbeans]

yikes

[7 Wishes]

Who'd have ever thought this would've happened? It's a shame......

[hsw]

SV's tech cos. are among the world's best run cos. as they try to maximize profits in any economy, so they will continually downsize (or upsize as needed) their workforces and move lower-skill engineering and back-office jobs out of SV to TX or India or wherever makes economic sense (cos. are owned by shareholders who include both billionaire founders as well as Mom and Pop from OH's pension fund or mutual fund)

Aside from top engineers and execs, it makes very little sense for any major employer to keep many <$200K/yr jobs in high-cost, high-tax SV

Upside is SV will, over time, become less crowded and face less social ills (and tax burdens) as some of these non-taxpaying, underachieving residents leave SV for other places to seek jobs (or better welfare handouts)

[Mach50]

Thankfully I work for a great company for many years as an engineer. I would NOT want to be looking for a job right now. It is very competitive and companies are low-balling offers.

[Bagger]

Originally Posted by Mach50

Thankfully I work for a great company for many years as an engineer. I would NOT want to be looking for a job right now. It is very competitive and companies are low-balling offers.

I hear ya'! I would not want to be a job hunter now...feel bad for those that are searching.

I'm also very lucky in that I work for a very good company.

I don't know how some of these folks deal with being out of work and still have to deal with their expenses.

[LisaCACO]

what's lockheed doing out there? are they hiring at all? they used to pick up the slack in small downturns...

[mysticaltyger]

Originally Posted by hsw

Upside is SV will, over time, become less crowded and face less social ills (and tax burdens) as some of these non-taxpaying, underachieving residents leave SV for other places to seek jobs (or better welfare handouts)

That may be true but only to an extent. I mean, somebody has to work in low paying industries such as hotels, retail, etc. The pay for those kinds of jobs seems to barely keep up with inflation (and that's in good times).

I have to say you post does come off as a little snobbish.

Plus I think people will probably keep moving here and/or having kids, so I don't know how true the "less crowded" comment is, either.

[mysticaltyger]

Originally Posted by 7 Wishes

Who'd have ever thought this would've happened? It's a shame......

This is what happens when you overtax and overregulate without thinking about the costs of such policies...you get higher than average unemployment. It's really economics 101.

[Mach50]

Originally Posted by LisaCACO

what's lockheed doing out there? are they hiring at all? they used to pick up the slack in small downturns...

Lockheed is pulling chalks, moving most of its business to other states. Especially IT work, very few IT people for LM are in Sunnyvale any longer, most have moved to Denver, Bethesda, Valley Forge and Owego NY. The Space division is still here though.