• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

Businesses Paint Rosy Picture of Job Market

Posted on: Wednesday, 8 February 2006, 09:00 CST

By George Avalos, Contra Costa Times, Walnut Creek, Calif.

Feb. 8--More Bay Area businesses are hanging out the "help wanted" sign than at any other time in the past three years, a new survey found.

The hiring outlook is the best ever recorded by the quarterly Business Confidence Index, which began asking employers in October 2002 about their hiring plans. About 550 executives were surveyed by the Bay Area Council for the report, which was released today.

"You need more employees to create more output, and that is what we are hearing from our business customers," said Michael Billeci, Wells Fargo Bank's regional president for the greater Bay Area. "Businesses are starting to invest more in the growth of their companies. Their excess cash is being deployed."

Wells Fargo added 800 employees in the Bay Area in 2005 and the bank intends to continue its hiring in 2006.

The council's report found that 42 percent of the Bay Area companies surveyed intended to increase their staff in the coming six months. Only 5 percent of the region's companies planned to reduce staff.

"It seems as if confidence is picking up," said Deanna Berzins, a vice president with Richmond-based Mechanics Bank. "A number of industries are adding jobs. The Bay Area is attracting more people in higher-paying jobs."

In the East Bay, 41 percent of Alameda County companies surveyed intended to increase staffing, while 1 percent planned a reduction. About 38 percent of the companies polled in Contra Costa-Solano counties planned additional hiring while 7 percent intended to reduce jobs.

"The East Bay is still the strongest market right now because of the diversity of its economy," Billeci said. "There is a lot of very good growth in places such as eastern Contra Costa."

Even some of the most dreadful employment markets have begun to rebound.

"I'm also seeing improvement in the South Bay where the tech business is also starting to grow and add jobs and invest," Billeci said. "High tech is clearly not at the levels of its heyday, but it is better than it was the last three years."

Telecommunications, for example, is an area of the high-tech sector that was hammered in the wake of the dot-com meltdown and Internet implosion. Yet even in this arena, some East Bay executives report brighter conditions and stepped-up hiring.

Livermore-based TriNet Communications Inc., a telecommunications equipment supplier, is one company that has seen business improve enough to increase staffing. During the height of the tech boom, TriNet had about 40 workers. The downturn forced the company to chop its staff in half. Now, the firm has 29 employees, company president Jon Fernandez said.

"We saw a 25 percent increase in our sales in 2005," Fernandez said. "Our cable television business is up 75 percent, because they are deploying a lot of new services. And the telephone companies are starting to spend more money."

In a further sign of economic improvement, the Bay Area Business Confidence Index as of January 2006 reached one of its highest levels, a reading of 61, well above the 55 mark reported in the fall of 2005.

"What a difference three months makes," said Jim Wunderman, president of the Bay Area Council. "This is strong news for our economy and Bay Area workers. Last quarter, with the hurricanes and spike in energy costs, local confidence plunged to the worst level in 33 months."

The uncertainties prompted a number of companies to delay hiring, he said.

"As we suspected, that now appears to have been only a momentary shock," Wunderman said.

The removal of the uncertainties could be a major propellant for even faster job growth.

"Business owners are starting to believe the worst is over for higher interest rates and energy prices," Billeci said. "They feared and worried about a real estate bust. More realistically, they now see that real estate will have a slowdown but not a bust. As the future becomes more clear, they become more confident."

George Avalos covers the economy, financial markets, insurance and banks. You can reach him at 925-977-8477 or gavalos@cctimes.com.

-----

Copyright (c) 2006, Contra Costa Times, Walnut Creek, Calif.

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

For information on republishing this content, contact us at (800) 661-2511 (U.S.), (213) 237-4914 (worldwide), fax (213) 237-6515, or e-mail reprints@krtinfo.com.

NYSE:WFC, NASDAQ-OTCBB:MCHB, Amsterdam:39085,

Source: Contra Costa Times (Walnut Creek, Calif.)

More News in this Category