On Thursday, May 15, East Bay EDA hosted the 2025 East Bay Economic Outlook and Annual Membership Meeting at the San Ramon Community Center. Over 200 guests gathered to network and hear presentations on the state of the economy, real estate, and labor markets. The audience was welcomed by Contra Costa Supervisor Candace Andersen, District 2, and East Bay EDA Chair. Supervisor Andersen provided an update on East Bay EDA initiatives and events, website resources, our data dashboard, and Resilient East Bay.
The presentations were led by Abby Snay, Deputy Secretary, Workforce Strategy, State of California Labor and Workforce Development Agency, who gave an overview of economic, demographic, and policy factors affecting the state’s workforce, including the state’s Master Plan for Career Education and Jobs First. Key takeaways included a need for skills-based hiring and a targeted focus on sectors, systems, and target populations.
Our keynote presentation by Alexander Quinn, Senior Director, Northern California Research, JLL, provided a high-level and regional look at the 2025 economy, covering everything from the impacts of tariffs and trade policy to Bay Area employment, real estate, and office trends. Key highlights from Mr. Quinn’s presentation are below.
- Tariffs are projected to negatively impact GDP, consumer spending, and inflation
- Higher cost of borrowing expected for households, businesses, and the government
- Bay Area companies are near Q1 2025 levels despite the recent tariffs
- The biggest shares of VC investment are seen at the intersection of AI and robotics
- Office vacancy remains high in San Francisco and downtown Oakland
- Bay Area manufacturing jobs at 9% are higher than the U.S. percentage at 8%
Following the presentations, our speakers participated in a discussion panel and Q&A hosted by Daniel Shulman, Senior Vice President and Market Executive, Bank of America. The event ended with a special giveaway presented by Southwest Airlines. We are incredibly grateful to our sponsors, including Bank of America, John Muir Health, Southwest Airlines and the City of San Ramon, for making this event possible. If you missed it, you can visit the photo gallery, watch on our YouTube channel, and catch the recording on Contra Costa Television (CCTV) multiple times in May and June 2025.
East Bay EDA appreciates the partnership and support from all our members, partners, and other community stakeholders. If you would like to learn more about the benefits of East Bay EDA membership, please complete an application, and a member of our team will get back to you.
