Close
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Logo
Logo
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home Applications
    • Applications
    • IT Management

    Silicon Valley Losing Its Middle Class

    By
    Deb Perelman
    -
    February 26, 2008
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin

      The effects of a sub-prime mortgage crisis, financial market volatility and a shifting global economy are disproportionately affecting midwage technology workers in Silicon Valley.

      In 2006, only 46 percent of the jobs in Silicon Valley were midwage, paying between $30,000 and $80,000 a year, down from 52 percent in 2002, according to the 2008 Index of Silicon Valley, sponsored by Joint Venture, a public-private partnership, and the Silicon Valley Community Foundation, a nonprofit.

      Meanwhile, the percentage of higher wage jobs remained relatively stable at 26 to 27 percent, while low-wage jobs grew from 22 to 27 percent in the same period.

      “This is real. We don’t know if it is a long-term trend yet, but there are a lot of reasons to believe it will be. Only time will tell,” said Hancock.

      However, the picture is more complicated than a depleted middle class. The region’s 541,300 midwage jobs were distributed across 523 occupations in 2006, half of which lost and half of which gained jobs. The vanishing jobs had been among workers who had been in the lowest parts of the white-collar work force, including secretaries, clerks and customer service representatives. Meanwhile, blue-collar roles such as electricians and plumbers and white-collar jobs such as computer support technicians showed gains.

      Joint Venture CEO Russell Hancock argued that in forcing companies to build themselves and compete differently, globalization played a part in the diminished middle class presence in Silicon Valley.

      “Globalization has forced our companies to compete in a new and different ways-to be dynamic, flexible, lean. You’d once start a company and hope it would grow, become a GM. But the new model is driven by different regions with different cost structures and startup activity and they’re very lean and flexible. Companies are getting smaller, focusing on core competencies and they’re not generating midrange jobs as much,” said Russell.

      Back-office jobs are expected to continue to be contracted out, while high-end work such as research, design and intellectual property are likely to continue to flourish in the region.

      Still, the overall picture of Silicon Valley is a healthy one. The population in the region grew 1.5 percent in the past year; it added 28,000 jobs at a time when overall employment growth slowed in the rest of the country; and the region continued to increase its share of U.S. patents, with 47 percent of those granted in California and 12 percent of those in the nation coming out of the region.

      According the report, the Valley has also diversified. Previous innovators in the region were single technologies-transistors, semiconductors, the circuit and the PC-one dimensional when compared to today’s relatively diversified portfolio, with IT at its center.

      “Information technology is our bread and butter, and it’s not played out yet. We’ve still got innovation to come in mobile devices, handheld computing and wireless infrastructure,” said Russell.

      Deb Perelman

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Big Data and Analytics

      Alteryx’s Suresh Vittal on the Democratization of...

      James Maguire - May 31, 2022 0
      I spoke with Suresh Vittal, Chief Product Officer at Alteryx, about the industry mega-shift toward making data analytics tools accessible to a company’s complete...
      Read more
      Cybersecurity

      Visa’s Michael Jabbara on Cybersecurity and Digital...

      James Maguire - May 17, 2022 0
      I spoke with Michael Jabbara, VP and Global Head of Fraud Services at Visa, about the cybersecurity technology used to ensure the safe transfer...
      Read more
      Cloud

      IGEL CEO Jed Ayres on Edge and...

      James Maguire - June 14, 2022 0
      I spoke with Jed Ayres, CEO of IGEL, about the endpoint sector, and an open source OS for the cloud; we also spoke about...
      Read more
      Applications

      Cisco’s Thimaya Subaiya on Customer Experience in...

      James Maguire - May 10, 2022 0
      I spoke with Thimaya Subaiya, SVP and GM of Global Customer Experience at Cisco, about the factors that create good customer experience – and...
      Read more
      Big Data and Analytics

      GoodData CEO Roman Stanek on Business Intelligence...

      James Maguire - May 4, 2022 0
      I spoke with Roman Stanek, CEO of GoodData, about business intelligence, data as a service, and the frustration that many executives have with data...
      Read more
      Logo

      eWeek has the latest technology news and analysis, buying guides, and product reviews for IT professionals and technology buyers. The site’s focus is on innovative solutions and covering in-depth technical content. eWeek stays on the cutting edge of technology news and IT trends through interviews and expert analysis. Gain insight from top innovators and thought leaders in the fields of IT, business, enterprise software, startups, and more.

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Advertisers

      Advertise with TechnologyAdvice on eWeek and our other IT-focused platforms.

      Advertise with Us

      Menu

      • About eWeek
      • Subscribe to our Newsletter
      • Latest News

      Our Brands

      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms
      • About
      • Contact
      • Advertise
      • Sitemap
      • California – Do Not Sell My Information

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      © 2022 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

      ×