Bay Watch

The Bay Area Council Economic Institute’s weekly data deep dive into the Bay Area economy.

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Bay Watch – August 2024 Jobs Report

Bay Watch: A Weekly Look into the Bay Area Economy September 30, 2024 The East Bay led region’s job growth in August, while San Francisco lost jobs for the eighth consecutive month The Bay Area …

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Bay Watch – Population Data

Bay Watch: A Weekly Look into the Bay Area Economy September 10th, 2024   Is the Bay Area gaining population or losing population? Well, it depends on who you ask. Accurately estimating a region’s population …

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Bay Watch – July 2024 Jobs Update

Bay Watch: A Weekly Look into the Bay Area Economy August 21st, 2024 Bay Area lost 3,400 jobs in July The region continued its overall job loss last month, losing 3,400 jobs in July, 3,200 …

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Bay Watch – Taking Stock of the Business Exodus

Bay Watch: A Weekly Look into the Bay Area Economy August 9th, 2024 With a new wave of corporate relocation announcements in recent weeks—including the Chevron and SpaceX moves to Texas—the concept of a California …

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Bay Watch – June 2024 Jobs Update

Bay Watch: A Weekly Look into the Bay Area Economy July 26th, 2024 Bay Area job growth slowed in June but still positive  The Bay Area economy experienced modest growth in June 2024, although the …

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Bay Watch – Tourism and Business Travel

Bay Watch: A Weekly Look into the Bay Area Economy July 9th, 2024 When it comes to tourism and business travel, the Bay Area has struggled to see the same resurgence as other major cities …

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Bay Watch – May 2024 Jobs Update

Bay Watch: A Weekly Look into the Bay Area Economy June 26th, 2024 Job gains in May defy slow growth trends in March and April While at the start of year job growth began to …

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Bay Watch – April 2024 Jobs Update

Bay Watch: A Weekly Look into the Bay Area Economy May 21, 2024 Jobs added to region in April, but growth is slow Since the Bureau of Labor Statistics released data revisions that showed that …

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Bay Watch – January 2024 Jobs Report and Benchmark Revision

Bay Watch: A Weekly Look into the Bay Area Economy March 11, 2024 Due to major data revisions last week, the Bay Area’s total job count is nearly 100,000 lower than previously reported Due to …

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Bay Watch – 2024 Transit Tracker

Bay Watch: A Weekly Look into the Bay Area Economy May 21st, 2024 Bay Area transit agencies still struggling to recoup ridership Transit ridership in the Bay Area was severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic …

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Bay Watch – 2023 Year End Jobs Report

Bay Watch: A Weekly Look into the Bay Area Economy January 31st, 2024 Region ends the year strong, adding nearly 11,000 jobs in December The 9-county Bay Area gained nearly 20,000 jobs in the last …

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Bay Watch – Population Exodus Over?

Bay Watch: A Weekly Look into the Bay Area Economy January 23, 2024 San Francisco population decline abating The California Department of Finance released new county-level population data for 2023, and for the first time …

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Bay Watch – APEC Hospitality Impact

Bay Watch: A Weekly Look into the Bay Area Economy November 30th, 2023 All eyes were on San Francisco this month as the city hosted the 32nd annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) conference, the largest …

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Bay Watch – October 2023 Jobs Update

Bay Watch: A Weekly Look into the Bay Area Economy November 20, 2023 The region saw marginal job growth in October after three months of losses, but layoffs loom The 9-county Bay Area gained 3,000 …

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Bay Watch – Halloween Spending

Bay Watch: A Weekly Look into the Bay Area Economy October 31, 2023 Happy Halloween from the Economic Institute! To celebrate, we tracked consumer spending of your favorite halloween goodies… Halloween is back! After a …

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Bay Watch – Housing Permits

Bay Watch: A Weekly Look into the Bay Area Economy October 26, 2023 Since the start of 2022, cities in California have permitted far fewer units of housing than peer cities. From January 2022 to …

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Bay Watch – September 2023 Jobs Update

Bay Watch: A Weekly Look into the Bay Area Economy October 20, 2023 The region saw a decline in job growth in September after a short lived increase in August. The 9-county Bay Area lost …

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Bay Watch – Housing Update

Bay Watch: A Weekly Look into the Bay Area Economy October 12th, 2023 Last week news reports across the region celebrated that Bay Area home prices had risen for the first time in 14 months, …

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Bay Watch – AI

Bay Watch: A Weekly Look into the Bay Area Economy October 6th, 2023 As San Francisco struggles to recoup pre-pandemic economic activity, AI companies soar Amidst San Francisco’s economic struggles post-pandemic, the growth of AI …

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Bay Watch – Remote Work Update

Bay Watch: A Weekly Look into the Bay Area Economy September 22nd, 2023 New 2022 data show remote work in the Bay Area is here to stay New data released last week from the U.S. …

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Bay Watch – August 2023 Jobs Update

Bay Watch: A Weekly Look into the Bay Area Economy September 15, 2023 The region saw positive job growth in August after a short lived decline in July, but growth rates have slowed The 9-county …

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Bay Watch – Economic Recovery Tracker

Bay Watch: A Weekly Look into the Bay Area Economy August 4th, 2023 Tracking economic recovery: San Francisco ranks 24th out of 25 major regions for the 3rd quarter in a row, fastest growing regions …

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Bay Watch – Business Travel

Bay Watch: A Weekly Look into the Bay Area Economy August 4th, 2023 As some cities experience a resurgence in business travel, reaching or exceeding pre-pandemic levels of hotel occupancy, conventions, and air travel, San …

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Bay Watch – Migration and Income

Bay Watch: A Weekly Look into the Bay Area Economy July 11th, 2023 Are wealthy people actually leaving the Bay Area in droves? Short answer: no. However, they are leaving the region at a faster …

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Bay Watch – Migration Trends

Bay Watch: A Weekly Look into the Bay Area Economy June 29th, 2023 Bay Area residents are increasingly moving out of state. Still, 67% of those who moved in 2021 stayed in the Bay Area, …

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Bay Watch – SF Film History

Bay Watch: A Weekly Look into the Bay Area Economy June 23rd, 2023 San Francisco on the silver screen In the wake of the pandemic, downtowns across the nation have been grappling with empty storefronts, …

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Bay Watch – May 2023 Jobs Update

Bay Watch: A Weekly Look into the Bay Area Economy June 16th, 2023 The region showed strong job gains again in May, defying tech layoffs and March losses In March 2023, the Bay Area’s two-year …

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Bay Watch – Finance and Insurance Job Market

Bay Watch: A Weekly Look into the Bay Area Economy June 9th, 2023 The region’s finance and insurance sector has struggled to regain its former strength The recent turmoil in the banking sector has put …

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Bay Watch – Aging Population

Bay Watch: A Weekly Look into the Bay Area Economy June 2nd, 2023 Bay Area aging faster than ever before Last week, we wrote about significant racial demographic shifts with data from the latest 2020 …

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Bay Watch – Demographic Profile

Bay Watch: A Weekly Look into the Bay Area Economy May 26th, 2023 Bay Area more diverse than ever with new 2020 Census data New demographic data released by the U.S. Census Bureau this week …

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Bay Watch – April 2023 Jobs Update

Bay Watch: A Weekly Look into the Bay Area Economy May 19th, 2023 The region showed strong job gains in April, defying tech layoffs and previous month’s losses In March 2023, the Bay Area’s two-year …

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Bay Watch – Population Loss

Bay Watch: A Weekly Look into the Bay Area Economy May 5th, 2023 The Bay Area sees population loss for the third straight year, losing 34,000 people across 2022. New data released this week by …

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Bay Watch – March 2023 Jobs Update

Bay Watch: A Weekly Look into the Bay Area Economy April 28th, 2023 The Bay Area ends its nearly two year long job growth streak as layoffs take further effect. For the past two years, the …

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Bay Watch – Unicorn Companies

Bay Watch: A Weekly Look into the Bay Area Economy April 14th, 2023 The Bay Area continues to be a regional hub for new unicorn companies, indicating lasting strength of the region’s start-up eco-system. The …

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Bay Watch – February 2023 Jobs Update

Bay Watch: A Weekly Look into the Bay Area Economy March 30th, 2023 Job growth slowed in February, indicating tech layoffs finally reflected in the data In January, we saw dramatic job growth in the …

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Bay Watch – The Bay Area’s Venture Capital Eco-System

Bay Watch: A Weekly Look into the Bay Area Economy March 24th, 2023  While banking failures and tech layoffs spark fear, the Bay Area’s tech and venture capital ecosystem remains strong. The Bay Area economy …

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Bay Watch – Bay Area Full Jobs Recovery

Bay Watch: A Weekly Look into the Bay Area Economy March 17th, 2023 After 3 years of steady, slow growth, the Bay Area has fully recovered its pre-pandemic jobs This week, the Bureau of Labor …

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Bay Watch – Business Openings and Closures

Bay Watch: A Weekly Look into the Bay Area Economy March 9, 2023 It’s been three years since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, and many businesses in San Francisco have struggled to stay afloat …

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Bay Watch – Leisure and Hospitality Recovery

Bay Watch: A Weekly Look into the Bay Area Economy February 23rd, 2023 The Bay Area’s tourism industry has experienced one of the slowest recoveries in the nation. Between shutdowns during the first half of …

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Bay Watch – 2022 Transit Recovery

Bay Watch: A Weekly Look into the Bay Area Economy February 3rd, 2023 Bay Area transit agencies still struggling to recoup ridership, while bridge traffic hovers close to pre-pandemic levels Amidst pandemic-related shutdowns, spikes in …

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Bay Watch – 2022 Population Trends

Bay Watch: A Weekly Look into the Bay Area Economy January 27th, 2023   Bay Area population falls for third straight year New data released this week by the California Department of Finance offers a …

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Bay Watch – 2022 Year End Jobs Report

Bay Watch: A Weekly Look into the Bay Area Economy January 20th, 2023 Region ends the year strong, but layoffs loom The Bay Area ended the year strong, adding nearly 14,000 jobs and bringing unemployment …

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Bay Watch – Inflation

Bay Watch: A Weekly Look into the Bay Area Economy January 13, 2023 Have We Really Turned the Corner on Inflation? New data released this week by the Bureau of Labor Statistics had markets excited …

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Bay Watch – GDP

Bay Watch: A Weekly Look into the Bay Area Economy December 9, 2022 Data released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis on Thursday provided a new reason to be optimistic about the region’s economic recovery. …

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Bay Watch – Home Values

Bay Watch: A Weekly Look into the Bay Area Economy December 1, 2022 The Bay Area continues to lead the nation in home values. The Nine-County Bay Area – comprised of Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, …

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Bay Watch – Thanksgiving

Bay Watch: A Weekly Look into the Bay Area Economy November 22, 2022 Happy Thanksgiving from the Economic Institute! This week, as millions of Americans look forward to gathering with friends and family for turkey …

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Bay Watch – Jobs and Layoffs

Bay Watch: A Weekly Look into the Bay Area Economy November 18th, 2022 October job growth ticks up Despite continuing widespread fears an economic downturn is around the corner, the region’s three major metros posted …

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Bay Watch – Multilingual Learning

Bay Watch: A Weekly Look into the Bay Area Economy November 2nd, 2022 This week’s Baywatch highlights the Economic Institute’s latest report on the economic benefits of multilingual learning, filling a gap in the literature …

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Bay Watch – Housing Crisis

Bay Watch: A Weekly Look into the Bay Area Economy October 27, 2022 So far in 2022, Austin metro has produced nearly 10x as much housing on a per capita basis as San Francisco metro …

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Bay Watch – Transit Recovery

Bay Watch: A Weekly Look into the Bay Area Economy October 13, 2022 Recent analysis by the Bay Area News Group reported that for the first time in at least twenty years, Los Angeles County’s …

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Bay Watch – U.S. Jobs Report

Bay Watch: A Weekly Look into the Bay Area Economy October 7, 2022 Economic growth slows – is a recession next? New data released this week by the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed some of …

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Bay Watch – Remote Work

Bay Watch: A Weekly Look into the Bay Area Economy September 21, 2022 New data reveal number of Bay Area residents primarily working from home nearly quintupled from 2019 to 2021 New data released last …

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Bay Watch – Foreign Direct Investment

Bay Watch: A Weekly Look into the Bay Area Economy September 13, 2022 The COVID-19 pandemic has had detrimental effects on the international economy, in particular foreign direct investments (FDI), which are substantial, lasting investments …

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Bay Watch – SF Business Activity

Bay Watch: A Weekly Look into the Bay Area Economy September 6, 2022   It’s been two and half years since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, and many businesses in San Francisco have struggled …

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Bay Watch – Carbon Emissions

Bay Watch: A Weekly Look into the Bay Area Economy August 30, 2022   In 2017, the Economic Institute issued a report highlighting the impact of the region’s housing crisis not only on residents, but …

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Bay Watch – San Francisco vs. San Jose

Bay Watch: A Weekly Look into the Bay Area Economy August 24, 2022 In the last few weeks, Bay Watch has analyzed several different metrics that compare our region’s economic recovery with other metropolitan areas …

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Bay Watch – Labor Force

Bay Watch: A Weekly Look into the Bay Area Economy August 16, 2022 Last week, we highlighted San Francisco’s difficult road to recovery. Two years and five months after shelter-in-place orders were first implemented, the …

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Bay Watch – Job Recovery

Bay Watch: A Weekly Look into the Bay Area Economy August 9, 2022 Despite recent job growth across key industry sectors, the Bay Area continues to struggle to recover the jobs it lost during the …

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Bay Watch – Venture Capital

Bay Watch: A Weekly Look into the Bay Area Economy August 2, 2022 Last week, Silicon Valley venture capital titan Andreessen Horowitz announced that it was taking its headquarters to the cloud. While it would …