Silicon Valley CEO Questions Strength Of Current Boom
SAN JOSE (KCBS) - Although Google, Facebook, Zynga and many other tech companies have been on hiring sprees lately, at least one executive has questioned how strong Silicon Valley's latest boom cycle really is.
An influx of high tech workers driving up rents from San Jose to San Francisco should not be mistaken for a robust economy, said T.J. Rodgers, CEO of Cypress Semiconductor.
"Jobs are terrible. Unemployment's terrible. The manufacturing sector's gone," he said.
KCBS' Mike Colgan Reports:
"Take me to a place where they actually make silicon and have jobs anymore making silicon. You can't find one."
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His pessimism is not shared by industry groups that see strong job growth among highly skilled workers.
While the overall unemployment rate for the South Bay sits at nine percent, just four percent of all college graduates in the area are out of work, said Carl Guardino of the Silicon Valley Leadership Group that represents 375 companies.
"When you look at somebody with a 'Double E' degree, an electrical engineering degree, it's closer to one percent," Guardino said.
He said the mayors in both San Jose and San Francisco were pursuing policies that promote an innovation economy.
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