Executives in the San Francisco Bay Area expect the economy to improve over
the next six months, but don't expect hiring to follow the same pattern, according to a new
survey.
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Get Your Report Now!The Bay Area Council polled 544 executives and found that about 70 percent
of respondents said that even if the local economy improves, they do not expect
to increase their companies' workforce.
The council notes that the area has already lost more than 341,000 jobs in
the last two and-a-half years, the equivalent of more than half the entire working
population of the city and county of San Francisco, or more than a third of
the entire Santa Clara County workforce.
In the next six months, nearly a fifth, or 18 percent, of respondents plan to
decrease their workforce. Only ten percent plan to increase their workforce
and 67 percent plan to keep it the same.
When the council asked executives when they expected their payrolls to return
to their highs of a few years ago, three percent said in six months, eight percent
said six months to one year, and 40 percent said more than a year from now.
Fifteen percent said never.
"Last quarter's survey confirmed the recession had bottomed out,"
says Sunne Wright McPeak, the president and CEO of the Bay Area Council. "This
quarter's survey signals recovery. We are concerned, however, that job growth
is lagging far behind. Government policy must change more if the recovery is
to be as robust as we all hope."