New data from Glassdoor says there are now more software job openings in the Seattle area than in Silicon Valley. Also, Jeff Bezos wrests a crown away from Bill Gates.
Top of the Order:
Where The Jobs Are: When it comes to open software jobs, more and more of those openings are about 800 miles north of the Bay Area, in the home of the Space Needle, Starbucks and, for those of us who grew up in the shadow of Mt. Rainier, the late, lamented Kingdome (1976-2000) : Seattle.
A boom in the Greater Seattle area tech sector has pushed the region past Silicon Valley in terms of job openings related to software. Data from a new Glassdoor report said that as of June 1,16.9 percent of the nation’s open software jobs are in and around Seattle. That amount is good enough to push the Emerald City past Silicon Valley, where Glassdoor said about 16 percent of current software openings are located.
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Biz Break: eBay’s OK outlook; lobbying fees; East Bay home prices Now, that doesn’ t necessarily mean Silicon Valley is on the slide. Glassdoor says the region still has more tech jobs overall than the Puget Sound area. But, when you have companies like Microsoft and Amazon in your backyard, there are always going to be a few thousand spots open for hiring. And Amazon, in particular, is showing few signs of slowing down with its hiring plans.
The Seattle Times said that a look at Amazon’s careers page currently shows 8,135 job opening in the Seattle area alone. And it’s not just companies headquartered in the Seattle area that are hiring. Facebook, Google, Salesforce and many other Bay Area stalwarts have offices in the Seattle where they are looking for employees.
And there is the remote-working factor. Writing software code for, say, Facebook, is something that doesn’ t necessarily require a person to be in Menlo Park everyday. Why put up the expenses and stress of moving someone hundreds, or thousands, of miles when they can do their job at a remote office, or even at home?
So, with Seattle now No. 1 for where software job openings are, will Silicon Valley develop an inferiority complex toward the city that’s up I-5 a ways? Probably not, but it does add a little more to that Seahawks-49ers “rivalry” that bothers Bay fans so much.
Middle Innings:
A New No. 1: From books to electronics to original TV programming to… Well, you name it, Jeff Bezos has taken Amazon into just about any business imaginable. And Amazon has now taken Bezos some place where he couldn’ t have imagined when he launched the company back in 1995: The title of World’s Richest Person. It might not last too long, but at least on Thursday, Bezos’ $91.3 billion net worth put him past Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, and his $90 billion in chump change, according to Forbes’ real-time worth tracker.
Imagine the Retainer: Former Uber Chief Executive Travis Kalanick isn’ t just hanging out at home now that he’s out of a job. Kalanick has hired former federal prosecutor Melinda Haag, of the powerful Bay Area law firm Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe, to represent him in the Waymo vs. Uber case. That case involves a former Waymo engineer and whether he provided Uber with confidential files about self-driving technology when Uber acquired a later company he founded. Kalanick was expected to be deposed in the case on Thursday.
Bottom of the Lineup:
First, the California Condor, Now…: What else could be on the endangered species list besides the iconic California bird? How about a Bay Area house that costs less than $500,000, and which is actually livable? Such places are becoming harder and harder to find .
Quote of the Day: “We have purchased the 52 parcels. That is all the information we have to share at this time.” — Katherine Williams, a Google spokeswoman. Williams was referring to a batch of properties Google has purchased in Sunnyvale’s Moffett Park. The purchases have aroused speculation that Google could soon launch a major expansion of its business in the area.
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