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| Poll: Gloom, with a silver lining? |
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According to the Silicon Valley Poll, nearly three out of four residents say their quality of life in the Bay Area has declined over the last five years, a concern that holds across all age, income, and education levels. The finding emerged from an exclusive poll by Joint Venture and the Bay Area News Group, which also found that respondents are growing more worried about crime, and are pessimistic about the regional economy, with just 38% saying economic conditions are good or excellent.
Joint Venture hosted a webinar on the poll October 4 in which Russell Hancock, CEO of Joint Venture and Mercury News journalists took a deep dive into the sentiments of 1,628 residents in the five core Bay Area counties. One bright spot: Respondents believe the persistence of remote work is making life better, by decreasing traffic, reducing stress, and making it possible to live in more affordable housing further from the Valley. |
View the 2022 Poll (spreadsheet version, cross tabs)
Download the 2022 Poll (narrative version, topline results)
Read news coverage
Watch the briefing video |
| Institute: Online tracker offers insights into regional prosperity created by the tech economy |
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| Joint Venture’s Silicon Valley Institute for Regional Studies has unveiled the Silicon Valley and San Francisco Public Company Stock Tracker, an innovative source of information about the region’s approximately 400 publicly traded companies. The market tracker allows users to toggle a start date since the pre-pandemic (February 2020) crash, and compare the region’s performance to key market indices over time. “These public companies are not only the major players in worldwide tech innovation, they’re also the employers of one in ten working adults here,” said Rachel Massaro, vice president and director of research. “Our region’s affluence has historically been fueled by these stocks, so the ability to track and compare our aggregate market performance is a key piece to understanding if – and how widely – that prosperity is shared.” |
| Go to the tracker |
| Silicon Valley unemployment falls to 2.1% |
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The unemployment rate in the Silicon Valley region decreased to 2.1% in September, which is 0.2 percentage points below the rate in August and equals the unemployment rate in July, according to analysis by Joint Venture’s Institute for Regional Studies. Overall employment in the region increased by just over 1,000 workers, while the number of unemployed decreased by nearly 3,100. The total number of unemployed workers in Silicon Valley is the lowest (31,300) since May (26,700). The total labor force in Silicon Valley dropped by almost 2,200 from mid-August to mid-September and is now 16,700 below the previous high in February 2020. The labor force now includes just over 87,400 more individuals than the pandemic low of 1.42 million in May 2021.
“Our recovery shows a continuing form of bifurcation that the pandemic made more pronounced. We're growing and even thriving on the high end and shrinking elsewhere,” said Russell Hancock, CEO of Joint Venture. “But the places we're shrinking employ the people who can least afford the setback. |
Download the data release
Read the news release |
| Michelle Qiao empowers through poetry |
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| Michelle Qiao, Santa Clara County’s Vice Youth Poet Laureate, presented a moving poem of her own creation at the Silicon Valley Poll Briefing on October 4. The poem, entitled Golden Gate, evoked the power of the Pacific Ocean and surrounding environs as a metaphor for community engagement. A student at Leland High School, Michelle has been recognized by the National Young Arts Foundation, the Scholastic Writing Awards, the New York Times, PBS, the Lincoln Center for the Arts, American High School Poets, and Broadway World. Her work has been produced at the Worldwide Plays Festival and featured at the San Jose Art Museum. She is a Call for Kindness Fellow, a Stanford China Scholar, and an editor at Flare Journal. |
| Watch Michelle’s presentation |
| Institute: New study boosts universal preschool |
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Joint Venture’s Silicon Valley Institute for Regional Studies published a seminal new report on the challenges of steep and rising preschool costs. The study was conducted in partnership with the University of Washington School of Social Work and supported by a grant from County of Santa Clara Supervisor Susan Ellenberg’s office. Results indicate that implementing a “universal” (publicly-funded and available to all) preschool program would help tens of thousands of Santa Clara County residents achieve income adequacy, create as many as 4,100 new education jobs, and enable more than 10,600 additional preschool-age children to enroll in early education programs.
“This study goes beyond whether or not preschool is good for kids and their families. We know it is,” said Massaro. “But to underpin universal publicly-funded preschool it’s key to examine not only the direct benefits, but also those to our broader community and regional economy. And as it turns out, relieving the burden of childcare costs to families also creates high-quality jobs and money flowing through numerous indirectly related industries.” |
| Read the study |
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Ernesto Lucero radiates warmth and kindness. As acting deputy director for economic and community development for the City of South San Francisco, he believes in the power of collaboration for the betterment of the community.
The City of South San Francisco, often called South City, has a population of about 67,000. With more than 250 biotech companies accounting for about 30% of the city’s jobs, it’s known as the Birthplace of Biotechnology.
Ernesto will soon complete his term as chair of Joint Venture’s Silicon Valley Economic Development Alliance (SVEDA), a consortium of 25 city and county economic development professionals who bring together public and private resources to ensure the success of regional businesses. |
| Read Ernesto's profile |
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October 21, 2022 - (MarketWatch) - 'Mass layoffs' of Meta bus drivers lead to pleas for Facebook to bring workers back to the office: According to a Joint Venture Silicon Valley survey of eight large tech companies in 2019. More
October 20, 2022 - (San Jose Spotlight) - San Jose: The most expensive major U.S. city for monthly bills - “There’s no surprise here,” Russell Hancock, president and CEO of Joint Venture Silicon Valley. More
October 17, 2022 - (Mercury News) - Bay Area exodus: Median income drops as wealthy residents move out - Bay Area News Group and Joint Venture Silicon Valley that found 53% of registered voters in the region say they’re likely to move out of the region in the next few years. More
October 15, 2022 - (Presidential Prayer Team) - Our Communities: Migration: According to the poll conducted by the Bay Area News Group and Joint Venture Silicon Valley. More
October 7, 2022 - (Davis Vanguard) - Commentary: Call It NIMBYISM or Something Else, but Rising Housing Costs Are Taking a Toll on Our Communities - A new poll by the Bay Area News Group and Joint Venture Silicon Valley found even worse, about 92 percent of respondents think cost of housing is a very serious problem. More
October 7, 2022 - (SDxCentral) - Will Metaverse Create a Bigger Digital Divide? IEEE Senior Member David Witkowski addressed the potential impacts the technology may have on the already pervasive digital divide.. More
October 6, 2022 - (San Jose Spotlight) - Santa Clara County families lack critical child care, report says: A report released by Joint Venture Silicon Valley today shows free, public child care from birth through age 5 equals money in families’ pockets. More
This is just a tiny sampling of Joint Venture's frequent coverage in the national and local news media. Read all our news coverage. |
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