To be sure, the pace of job growth in Silicon Valley is nothing short of spectacular, attendees at the 2016 State of the Valley Conference learned.
Despite having just 7.7 percent of the population of California, Silicon Valley accounts for 9.5 percent of the jobs in the state, 10.3 percent of the Golden State's economy, 43.2 percent of its initial public offerings, 47.7 percent of patent registrations, 33.1 percent of venture capital funding, and 38.4 percent of its angel investments, according to a report released this week.
"Does this translate to a sense of prosperity for Silicon Valley? My goodness, yes," said Russell Hancock, chief executive of Joint Venture Silicon Valley, which organized the conference.
Yet they also were told that this growth has increasingly created a divided region economically. "Silicon Valley has a bifurcated economy," Hancock said in his presentation. "We are a valley of high earners and a valley of low earners. We are becoming a valley of haves and have-nots."
As of 2014, the most recent year for available figures, 30 percent of households in the Santa Clara County-San Mateo County area had an average annual income of $150,000 or more. That's significantly higher than the 27 percent in that $150,000-plus range reported in 2010.
Mid-income households totaled 52 percent in 2014, down from 54 percent in 2014.
In 2014, low-income households, those making less than $35,000 a year, accounted for 17 percent of the households in the region, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures compiled by Joint Venture Silicon Valley.
"Middle income households are shrinking," Hancock said.
This boom is being driven by a dramatic upswing in technology jobs in the region.
Silicon Valley added 64,000 jobs during 2015, San Francisco gained 30,000 jobs, Alameda County added 26,000 jobs. Overall, the Bay Area added 129,000 jobs in 2015, according to the Silicon Valley Index. About 37 percent of the new Bay Area jobs last year were in technology fields, Hancock estimated.
Michelle Lee, director of the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office in San Jose, used her remarks to tout the cutting-edge culture of the area that fuels that growth.
"Silicon Valley is the story of innovators and entrepreneurs," Lee said. "Silicon Valley is the engine of innovation in the United States."
Lee also urged inventors and innovators to take advantage of the patent office, which opened in October at San Jose City Hall in the city's downtown.
"We like to call our regional offices innovation embassies," Lee said. "Innovation entrepreneurs now have more access. This is your office, so use it."
Nevertheless, she conceded that some of the most dynamic change agents in the region may well encounter bureaucratic hurdles in deploying their products and services.
"The more disruptive and innovative your technology might be, the more likely you are to run up against regulations," Lee said.
Speakers called on the region to solve the transportation and housing problems that have intensified primarily because of the surge in jobs.
Silicon Valley policymakers should approve high-density housing in underutilized or vacant sites, said Henry Cisneros, a former U.S. secretary of housing and urban development.
"Outdated tech campuses, abandoned big-box stores, empty transit sites can all be used for housing," Cisneros said during a speech to the group. "Transit stops would be perfect for housing. These would be walkable villages near transit."
©2016 the Contra Costa Times (Walnut Creek, Calif.) Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
