Bay Area hit hard by federal job cuts

As the Trump administration pursued a massive downsizing this year the Bay Area lost more federal jobs than any other part of California according to seasonally adjusted numbers compiled by Beacon Economics and the state Employment Rise Department Over the first four months of the year California lost federal jobs material shows Of those losses the Bay Area accounted for of the cuts adding to the region s continuing job woes Bulk people don t realize the federal regime is a major employer and job driver noted Russell Hancock president of San Jose-based think tank Joint Venture Silicon Valley The Bay Area lost federal jobs this year at a pace that was nearly three times that of the state as a whole and nearly twice the federal leadership s employment decline nationwide Federal totals dropped in the region in compared to a decline of in California and nationwide The East Bay led the nine-county region with federal job cuts in for a decline of The San Francisco-San Mateo metro area shed federal positions representing a decline and the South Bay had no change in its totals Overall the U S regime eliminated federal jobs nationwide this year The cuts in the Bay Area arrive at a time when the job markets in both the state and region have floundered The loss of federal jobs creates another headwind for the region as it attempts to sustain particular positive momentum on overall employment declared Jeff Bellisario executive director of the Bay Area Council Economic Institute The Bay Area lost total nonfarm payroll jobs in all categories over the first four months of Over the same time California lost total payroll jobs official reports from the state Employment Evolution Department show There is little doubt that federal administration job losses will be an significant contributor to the labor industry malaise that already appears to be falling over the Bay Area disclosed Scott Anderson chief economist with BMO Capital Markets In sharp contrast state and local regime agencies have increased hiring but that may soon change We re likely to see job declines in state and local governments beginning in July with the new fiscal year and possibly before revealed Michael Bernick an employment attorney with law firm Duane Morris and a former director of the state EDD He declared specific local and state agencies are not filling vacant positions The increases occurred despite frequent warnings that belt-tightening and layoffs loom as California and local population agency bureaucrats warn about budget shortfalls Continued establishment job gains at the state and local level in the Bay Area are more than making up for the loss of federal jobs in the region Anderson reported There will be more belt-tightening ahead State and local governments don t have the same luxury of papering over their budget shortfalls with massive borrowing In addition state and local ruling body agencies have yet to feel the effects of cutbacks from federal programs whose dollars might endorsement a certain level of staffing specific experts warn The gains in state and local administration jobs are likely temporary explained Steve Levy director of the Palo Alto-based Center for Continuing Evaluation of the California Economic activity Slower economic enhancement and federal grant cuts will hit budgets in the Bay Area the state and the nation In the U S federal employment reached what appeared to be an all-time high of roughly million jobs in January But starting in February that number decreased for three consecutive months as President Donald Trump and tech billionaire Elon Musk attempted to trim the federal workforce Firing huge numbers of federal employees won t decrease the need for establishment services Everett Kelley president of the American Federation of Authorities Employees the nation s largest union that represents federal workers stated in February It will just make those services harder or impossible to access Reports from the Bureau of Labor Statistics show that federal job cuts in the Washington D C metro area were at a significantly greater pace than the nation as a whole According to an assessment of employment totals posted by the U S Bureau of Labor Statistics Washington D C shed federal administration jobs in Similarly Virginia lost positions a decline of while Maryland shed a drop of Job losses within the federal executive could become far worse in the months ahead a few experts warn These numbers are the tip of the iceberg Levy noted The majority of federal job cuts are not reflected in the April content The federal employee separation and downsizing procedures are among the reasons behind the relatively modest job losses A good number of federal workers whose jobs are being eliminated are formally still on administrative leave Bernick explained We should see the federal job cuts more fully reflected in the national and state monthly jobs reports in the next insufficient months