SAN JOSE, Calif. (KCBS) -- A economic study released Tuesday morning predicts continued growth for Silicon Valley this year, but also forecasts challenges for workers in the middle class. The 2008 Silicon Valley Index shows the area should be largely insulated from a recession.
"We are a technology economy, we are not a manufacturing economy. Most of the jobs, the products, the services we create, we are marketing to overseas markets, especially the burgeoning Asian markets. Plus we’re innovating, the work that we do is knowledge intensive, and knowledge based,” said Russell Hancock, C.E.O of Joint Ventures Silicon Valley, which issued the report.
The outlook isn’t as rosy for mid-wage earners. Hancock says people who work in the service industries, such as teachers and police officers, will see a squeeze on their jobs.
Silicon Valley gained 28,000 jobs last year, which is a faster growth rate than the California, or the nation as a whole.
(MGO)