San Francisco Tech Employment Falls 22% From 2022 Peak, Hits 7-Year Low

The Information sector covering San Francisco and the northern part of Silicon Valley has lost 28,914 jobs since its August 2022 peak — a 22% decline that has erased the region's entire pandemic-era hiring boom, according to Federal Reserve data. The sector now employs 102,529 people, its lowest level since October 2019, and the contraction has not stopped: the region shed another 3,007 jobs since March alone.

The numbers arrive against a national labor market that remains firm, which is precisely what makes them notable. Initial jobless claims came in at 197,000 for the week ending September 19, 2026 — below the 200,000 threshold that typically signals a very strong labor market. Job openings stood at 7.08 million in August, down 3.5% from July, and total nonfarm payrolls reached a preliminary 159.075 million in August 2026, up from 158.472 million a year earlier. The economy is adding jobs. Tech, in its historic center, is not.

Sector detail: a decline approaching dot-com scale

The Information sector spans much of the region's software, internet, telecom and media workforce — the jobs that turned the Bay Area into the center of the tech economy. The Federal Reserve series, which runs from 1995 through 2026, shows the sector reaching an all-time peak of 131,443 jobs before turning sharply lower.

History provides a sober benchmark. The 2001 recession cost the sector 17,719 jobs, or 26%. The current downturn has already cut more jobs in absolute terms, and in percentage terms it is approaching that recession's damage. The regional Information series is contracting at a pace last seen when the dot-com bubble burst.

The losses extend beyond Information. Professional, Scientific and Technical Services employment in the same region has fallen by 35,500 jobs since June 2022 — a 13.2% decline that leaves the sector at 198,800 jobs, its lowest level since March 2019. After the 2000 dot-com bust, this sector lost 28% of its jobs through October 2003.

The weakness also shows up nationally. U.S. Information employment fell to 2.759 million in August 2026, down 28,000 (-1.0%) from July and below the 2.866 million recorded in December 2025. It is the lowest reading of the past year. Note that this national series is not seasonally adjusted.

What the data means for an individual's position

For a software, internet, telecom or media professional in the Bay Area, the practical meaning is straightforward: the local market now holds 22% fewer Information jobs than at the August 2022 peak, and 3,000 fewer than in March. A candidate competing for one of those 102,529 remaining positions faces a pool that has reverted to 2019 size — without the 2019 wage dynamics of a fast-growing sector. The parallel 13.2% contraction in professional and technical services narrows the adjacent roles — consultants, contractors, specialists — that tech workers often move into during downturns.

The divergence from the broader economy matters for anyone weighing relocation against waiting out the cycle. National payrolls grew by roughly 600,000 over the past year, and claims data shows no broad layoff wave. The problem is concentrated, structural, and specific to tech's core geography rather than spread across the economy.

The data do not isolate AI as the cause, but tech giants have publicly identified the technology as the primary reason for shedding jobs. Policymakers are treating the risk as real: a UK minister said this week the country needs a plan for possible "unprecedented" AI job losses, and former U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo laid out best- and worst-case scenarios for AI-driven losses on CNBC.

No single stock reacted to the regional employment figure, and the preliminary payroll numbers remain subject to revision. But with the drop of 3,007 jobs since March showing no sign of a bottom, and the national Information series posting its lowest reading of the past year, the most plausible near-term path is continued contraction in a sector that set the pace for a decade of hiring.