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Yesterday’s jobs report showed that the region added 17,000 in April and 103,000 jobs in the past 12 months—for the third year far outpacing the projected 40,000 added jobs per year in Plan Bay Area. These gains lowered unemployment rates on the peninsula to below 5%.
This pace of growth will not continue and the unemployment rate could bounce up before it goes down even more. But job growth will continue probably at rates higher than I anticipated three years ago.
In the first quarter of 2014 VC funding levels hit the highest level since the dot com boom and the Bay Area captured a record high 50% pf the national total.
On April 30th, the state Department of Finance released January 1, 2014 population estimates. Santa Clara County was the fastest growing county in California and for the first time the Bay Area was the state’s fastest growing region.
CalTrain released preliminary 2014 ridership counts and there was another surge in ridership in PA and across the system. Overall ridership was up 11.8%, PA counts were up 12.6% and more trains had more than 100% capacity at peak hours. click here
Palo Alto’s Housing Element update process continues amidst these continuing signs of surging regional and county growth. The Comp Plan update is continuing in the same context.
I think the pressures for wanting to live and work in Palo Alto will remain strong. I favor more of the growth in downtown where I live and work and around Cal Ave.
I invite the readers who are worried about the growth going on in south PA to come to these meetings and argue why other areas in the city are better choices for growth. For example the housing advisory committee and related council committee are nearing the end of selecting sites for the HE update and the condo site being discussed elsewhere on TS is in the list I believe.
Of course, people who present have to announce their real name and be respectful.