Study Predicts Flat Job Market

The Business Journal has an article out discussing an interview done by RHI of 200 Bay Area CFO’s about their hiring/firing plans for accounting and finance staff in the 4th quarter. The study showed:

3% expected to add positions
8% expected to reduce positions
88% expected no change

Although finance and accounting make up a small portion of the [...]

IBM’s Office of the Future

Below is a paper outlining IBM’s vision for the “Office of the Future”. Themes seem to be flexibility, sustainability, and data-centric facilities management. As technology reduces the need for face-to-face contact, the need for fixed, permanent workstations will be replaced by drop-in offices or “hotdesks”, and reducing the overall need for real estate. We wrote [...]

United States vs. The World In Charts

The Bureau of Labor Statistics has released its “Chartbook of International Labor Comparisons” with updated data to March 2009. The PDF file contains helpful data on how the United States stacks up with other countries with respect to its labor force.
The release is full of interesting data, charts (hence, chartbook), and comparisons. Check it out:

Joint Venture Silicon Valley Network Releases 2009 Silicon Valley Index

The Joint Venture Silicon Valley Network has released its annual publication on Silicon Valley which tracks trends in the region’s economy and community. The report discusses trends in regional investment, job growth, diversity, real estate, and government. It is a good resource for those inside and outside of Silicon Valley to see where the region [...]

SF Chronicle Article Today On San Francisco Office Space Market

The SF Chronicle today is featuring an article discussing the trouble San Francisco office market is facing as a result of all that is going on in the equity and debt markets. There are two key takeaways in this article. The first is that we could see a 900 basis point increase in the office vacancy rate in [...]

Bay Area Flight Volumes Down

Oakland Tribune is reporting a drop in air traffic in San Jose (SJC) and Oakland (OAK), and only a slight year-over-year increase at San Francisco (SFO). The detailed article is available to read here, but highlights are:

Across all three airports, the number of daily departures is down roughly 7%
Oakland Airport is down nearly 19% YoY
San Jose [...]

Banks To Continue Dumping Office Space

USBanker Magazine is featuring an article in its September issue discussing the impact of the current financial turmoil on office space vacancy rates. According to the article, New York’s Independent Budget Office is forecasting roughly 60,000 total job losses stemming from the credit crunch. The CEO of New York’s GVA office has estimated that as [...]

Now San Jose “Leaders” Want To Ban Fast Food Restaurants

It certainly didn’t take long for San Jose councilmemebers to take notice of the Los Angeles city council decision to ban fast food restaurants. Now Nora Campos, Forrest Williams, and Kansen Chu, councilmembers in the City of San Jose are proposing a one-year moratorium on new fast-food restaurants.
I’ll try and keep this post from turning into a [...]

Japan Economy Slips; GDP Shrinks 2.4%

In a sign that the slowdown being felt here in the US is evolving into a global phenomenon, Japan reported that its GDP contracted by 2.4% (annualized) in the quarter ending June 30th.
Japan is the world’s second largest economy and relies heavily on imported natural resources. Japan is facing a situation similar to that in the United [...]

LA City Council Passes Ordinance Placing Moratorium on Fast Food Restaurants in Impoverished Areas

The city of Los Angeles council has unanimously approved an ordinance which puts a moratorium on any new fast food restaurans in an “impoverished” area. This is likely the first time something like this has been passed in an effort to fight obesity. Unfortunately, the problem goes beyond simply blocking any further fast food restaurants [...]