San Francisco Economic Strategy Update: Phase I Findings

BOMA San Francisco Members:

The BOMA San Francisco Government and Public Affairs Committee (GAPAC) recently welcomed Ted Egan, Ph.D., Chief Economist for San Francisco and Todd Rufo, Deputy Director for Mayor Ed Lee's Office of Economic and Workforce Development.  They presented on San Francisco's first ever Economic Strategy.

Background

Created by voter-backed Proposition I in 2004, the Economic Strategy takes a holistic look at San Francisco's economy and critically evaluates how the City's policies and programs can do more to support local businesses. The Economic Strategy is currently being updated in a collaboration between the City's Office of Economic Analysis and Office of Economic & Workforce Development.

Business Barriers Survey

Key to informing the strategy is feedback from business owners. The City has created the Business Barriers survey to gain feedback from a diverse range of San Francisco businesses. The Business Barriers Survey takes 5-10 minutes to complete. Your opinions and experiences as a San Francisco business owner are incredibly important to informing how the City can support local businesses. Please take a few minutes to complete the survey at: www.oewd.org/survey.

Your feedback is essential to ensuring that the City is responsive to the needs of San Francisco businesses. Thank you for your time and responses. 

San Francisco Economic Strategy Update: Phase I Findings

Please click here to review the San Francisco Economic Strategy Update: Phase I Findings.  The report is divided into five sections:

• San Francisco's Economy in Context
• San Francisco's Employment Has Lagged the Bay Area Rate for Forty Years
• San Francisco Has a Declining Share of Bay Area Jobs in Every Sector of the Economy
• Structure of San Francisco's Economy
• Structure of the Private Sector
• Finance, Insurance and Real Estate
• Manufacturing
• Retail Trade
• Services
• The Export-Based Sectors Have Driven San Francisco's Overall Employment Through Business Cycles
• Performance of the Four Sectors, 2004-2010
• Workplace Implications
• Employment by Hourly Wage and Educational Level
• Creative Industries
• Experience Industries
• Financial & Professional Services
• Local-Serving Industries
• Industry Trends and Workforce Implications: Conclusions
• Demographic Implications 
• Demographic Trends, 1990-2010
• Population by Household Income Trends
• Significant Demographic Trends
• Barriers to Growth
• Labor Costs: San Francisco's Average Wages are Higher than Much of the Bay Area
• One Reason Wages are Higher in San Francisco is that Housing is More Expensive Here
• After the Crash, Housing has become more affordable in other parts of the Bay Area
• Commercial Rent Differences
• Business Taxes: San Francisco's Business Tax Burden is the Highest in the Region and State
• Combined Business Costs: Small Hardware Store
• Combined Business Costs: Large Law Firm
• Barriers to Growth: Conclusions