Gilroy
– New figures released by the U.S. Census Bureau provide more
evidence that the South Valley economy is slowly and steadily
recovering from the hi-tech slump that hit in 2000.
Gilroy – New figures released by the U.S. Census Bureau provide more evidence that the South Valley economy is slowly and steadily recovering from the hi-tech slump that hit in 2000.
The population of Santa Clara County edged up to 1,685,188 people in 2004, up 0.6 percent from the year before. It was the first time since before the slump that the county’s population grew. According to state figures, Gilroy’s population grew to 46,195 in 2004, a increase of 3.3 percent. Morgan Hill’s population reached 35,489, a 2.2 bump.
“We’ve been seeing drops in population in Santa Clara County, presumably linked to the soft economy and it seems to have turned around,” said Paul Fassinger, research director for the Association of Bay Area Governments. “It’s a bit surprising it happened this early because we didn’t see any evidence of job growth until early this year.”
Preliminary reports from the California Employment Development Department put the county’s unemployment rate at 5.6 percent, compared to 6.1 percent in January and 6.6 percent in 2004.
Demographer Hans Johnson of the Public Policy Institute of California said the population growth in South County is more likely linked to housing than it is to the local job market.
“The number of jobs in Gilroy certainly has something to do with the number of people, but the situation in San Jose may be more important,” Johnson said. “The number of housing units is going to be a more important factor than employment changes.”
Johnson said that San Benito County is also becoming more of a “commuter county.” Its population there grew 1.5 percent in 2004, to a total of 57,116.
Fassinger said that the latest numbers are in line with his agency’s projections. ABAG estimates that Santa Clara County population will reach 1,750,000 this year, and 2,267,000 in 2030.
