Statistics released this morning by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics show employment in the Bay Area declined by more than 3 percent in April compared to a year earlier, making the region the second worst for jobs behind Detroit. The data measure April 2009 to April 2010.
The government calls the area the "San Francisco region" and includes Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco and San Mateo counties. Curiously, the federal government does not consider Silicon Valley or Santa Clara County to be part of the area. San Jose is its own region, says the government.
When looking at San Jose, the numbers are vastly different, but still to the negative. They're down 1.9.
Check out the Bay Area employment numbers here.
This is the 20th consecutive month of over-the-year employment declines in the region, according to the bureau.
Todd Johnson, an economist with the bureau's office in San Francisco, said the region's over-the-year employment numbers closely matched the national numbers until the summer months of 2009 when it began to dip further than the national figures.
The Bay Area numbers have begun to rise in the first months of 2010, "but not quite at the same rate as the national numbers," Johnson said.
Local
Both government jobs and professional and business services jobs experienced the largest yearly losses in the area, with decreases of 11,700 and 11,400, respectively, according to the bureau.
About 10,100 construction jobs were lost between April 2009 and 2010, an 11.4 percent decline, the largest in the region.
Bay City News contributed to this article.
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