Those in the market for a job in the field of technology might want to head out west to start their search. That's because Silicon Valley's job growth has returned to dot-com boom levels, according to new findings from the 2013 Silicon Valley Index.
The region, which consists of San Mateo and Santa Clara counties, was responsible for 42,000 of the 92,000 new jobs in the Bay Area. Russell Hancock, president of Joint Venture Silicon Valley, said the growth was very impressive and that some might say it is cause for euphoria. The road ahead appears to be just as promising as well.
Along with Hancock, Stephen Levy, director of the Center for Continuing Study of the California Economy, noted that Santa Clara County now has more jobs than it did during the dot-com boom. Interestingly enough, it's not just the technology sector that's seeing growth as other industries like construction rank among the fastest-growing in the area.
Meanwhile, San Francisco continues to emerge as a major hub for technology. What once was considered a city for banking, legal, retail and real estate is now heavily invested in tech, software, media, social networks and the web, Hancock said.
Over the course of 2012, San Mateo and Santa Clara increased job totals by a combined 3.6 percent while San Francisco added 3.7 percent more jobs. Emmett Carson, CEO of Silicon Valley Community Foundation, pointed out that San Jose and San Francisco are becoming the bookends with a number of tech companies in the middle.