In 2023, 43% of jobs in the San Francisco Bay Area were in professional, business, education or health-related services
The information sector grew by 141% between 2002 and 2023
The farming and agriculture sector declined by 11% between 2002 and 2023
Introduction
Which industry sectors are gaining or losing jobs?
The Bay Area employment base is remarkably diverse, with over 4 million jobs in 2023 across 11 primary industry sectors. The number of jobs in a specific industry sector indicates the relative importance of that industry to the region’s overall economy. Trends over time determine whether an industry’s prominence is growing or shrinking. The Bay Area’s job growth over the past quarter-century can largely be attributed to job creation in the service sector.
Regional Performance
The Bay Area's job growth over the past quarter-century comes primarily from the service sector.
The service sector produces intangible goods – such as childcare, restaurant service or tax advice – instead of physical goods. In 2023, the top three sectors in the Bay Area with the highest number of jobs were all in the service sector: education & health services (910k jobs), professional & business services (830k jobs) and trade, transportation & utilities (580k jobs). In 2023, almost half of all jobs (43%, 1.7 million jobs) in the Bay Area were in the top two service sectors. In 2002, this share was 36% (1.2 million jobs).
The COVID-19 pandemic had a larger impact on some industries than others. For example, jobs in the leisure and hospitality industry decreased by 161k (-37%) between 2019 and 2021, highlighting the immediate impact of the pandemic. However, between 2021 and 2023, jobs in this industry increased by 119k jobs (+42%).
The education & health services sector has the highest number of jobs in the Bay Area at approximately 913k in 2023. This represents 23% of all jobs in the region
The education & health services sector has had the highest growth in jobs in the Bay Area, adding approximately 355k jobs between 2002 and 2023
Historical Trend for Jobs by Industry
Regional Distribution
The relative distribution of jobs in various industries throughout the Bay Area has shifted over time, with certain industries changing a lot more than others.
From 2002 to 2023, the three largest industries by employment have consisted of trade, transportation & utilities; education & health services; and professional & business services, but not necessarily consistently ranked in that order.
Some job sectors, both large and small, have seen declines in employment over time. For example, the trade, transportation & utilities sector lost almost 30,000 jobs between 2002 and 2023, a 5% decrease. This industry declined from the largest to the third-largest sector in the region, falling from 19% to 14% of all jobs in the region. At the other end of the size spectrum, the number of jobs in the farming and agriculture sector declined by approximately 11% between 2002 and 2023. In 2023, jobs in farming and agriculture accounted for 0.5% of all jobs in the region, down from 0.7% in 2002.
of jobs in the Bay Area were in the trade, transportation & utilities sector in 2023; this number used to be 19% in 2002
of jobs in the Bay Area were in the manufacturing sector in 2023; this number used to be 12% in 2002
Historical Trend for Job Growth by Industry
Local Focus
Employment in the professional and business services sector, one of the pillars of our region’s economy, has long been concentrated in Santa Clara, San Francisco and Alameda counties.
As of 2023, Santa Clara, San Mateo and San Francisco counties have experienced some of the greatest economic benefits from job growth in the professional and business services sector. While the East Bay has also benefited from service-sector job growth, trade, transportation & utilities is among its top three industry sectors and has experienced relatively stagnant job growth between 2002 and 2023.
Agriculture remains an important sector in our region, particularly in Sonoma and Napa counties. These two counties account for 60% of all farming and agriculture jobs in the region as of 2023.
of all Bay Area professional & business services jobs were in Santa Clara County in 2023
of all Bay Area farming and agriculture jobs were in Sonoma County in 2023
Industry Specialization Breakdown (2023)
Sources & Methodology
The US Census / Longitudinal Employer-Household Dynamics (LEHD) Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES) Workplace Area Characteristics (WAC) data gives job counts by North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) 2-digit sector at the 2020 Census Block level.
The location quotient (LQ) is used to evaluate level of concentration or clustering of an industry within the Bay Area and within each county of the region. A location quotient greater than 1 means there is a strong concentration for of jobs in an industry sector. For the Bay Area, the LQ is calculated as the share of the region’s employment in a particular sector divided by the share of California's employment in that same sector. For each county, the LQ is calculated as the share of the county’s employment in a particular sector divided by the share of the region’s employment in that same sector.
U.S. Census Bureau: LODES Data
Longitudinal Employer-Household Dynamics Program
2002-2023