Technology, China and the Bay Area Economy

On November 8, the UCLA Anderson Forecast team traveled to San Francisco for its sixth annual Regional Economic Outlook. This edition was headlined Geopolitics, China and the Future of Tech and was co-hosted by UC Law San Francisco and the Bay Area Council Economic Institute. The event included the latest economic outlook for the Bay Area, California and the U.S., including the prospect of recession, higher inflation and higher interest rates. Important for California and the Bay Area economies are the recent regulations with respect to technology and business with China. A panel of experts representing law firms, the public and private sectors, and academia discussed the implications of these regulations for the future of tech and trade.

UCLA Anderson Forecast director Jerry Nickelsburg presented the Forecast’s quarterly economic forecast, first released in October. Sean Randolph, senior director of the Bay Area Council Economic Institute, presented his Bay Area forecast. According to Randolph, the Bay Area job recovery has been driven by manufacturing, information and the education/health sectors. Conversely, retail trade has been struggling. Since February 2020, the San Francisco metro area has added 17,500 “knowledge industry” jobs (tech, finance, office, R&D), but it should be noted that most peer regions have added more.

A panel discussion followed the forecasts.