South Bay economic recovery charges ahead

Led by tech hiring, the South Bay's economic recovery charged ahead in July with better-than-average increases in several industries, the state Employment Development Department reported. The valley's tech-heavy professional and business services sector gained 1,900 jobs in July, a month when the valley typically loses some of these jobs, the EDD reported. "San Jose is leading the charge," said Brad Kemp of Beacon Economics. "Every industry is growing. It's the one area in California you can't find anything negative to say about." Even so, Santa Clara County's unemployment rate remained stuck at 10.3 percent. San Mateo County's unemployment was up slightly from a revised 8.6 percent to 8.7 percent, the second lowest in the state. But over the year, Silicon Valley employers have added 30,800 jobs.