Despite the booming artificial intelligence industry on the West Coast, unemployment in the region remains high. California, Oregon, and Washington have some of the highest jobless rates in the country, with 5.2% unemployment in June, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Slow Tech Hiring

Tech hiring has slowed sharply over the past few years, especially on the West Coast. The sluggish job market has shut out new entrants and left people like Juan Ruiz feeling stuck. Ruiz has been looking for a new job with more pay since October 2024 but has received no responses to his hundreds of applications.

Companies are spending on AI, but this has also led to layoffs instead of expanding their workforce. "AI technology is getting better and companies are using it, so they don't need to hire as many software developers or data analysts, for example," said Laura Ullrich, director of economic research at Indeed.

Impact on Local Economies

Employment in California's information industry hit a six-year low in April, and the state's unemployment rate has climbed steadily since the beginning of the year. Amazon and Microsoft, two of the largest employers in Washington, have both announced several rounds of mass layoffs in recent years. Intel, the largest private employer in Oregon, also announced layoffs last month, impacting its data center operations and shrinking its workforce to 81,000 — down from more than 130,000 in 2022.

The current economic landscape has led to businesses "selectively hiring in response to attrition or specific business needs," according to the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco's latest periodic survey of businesses. Some businesses even reported vendor-imposed fuel surcharges, the survey said.

Original reporting: KEYT (Ventura/Santa Barbara) — read the source article.