When talking about the economic climate on the West Coast, you can't make any sweeping generalizations. Every metropolitan area is emerging from the recession at its own pace, and some parts of Southern California never saw much of a downturn at all. That wasn't the case in the San Francisco Bay area, which was decimated when the Internet bubble burst. With 41 percent of all Silicon Valley jobs in high-tech businesses, this market has been slow to mend. It's a different story in Seattle, which took a beating when Boeing cut back several years ago. Today, the pent-up demand for commercial space is about to explode, said a report in the Seattle Times. The Seattle Department of Planning and Development says commercial-construction-permit applications point toward nearly $1.4 billion in construction in the city this year, a 129 percent increase over 2003. There are also wild swings in housing activity in this region.

NA — Not available

MSA — Metropolitan Statistical Area

PMSA — Primary Metropolitan Statistical Area

CMSA — Consolidated Metropolitan Statistical Area

EC — Electrical contractor employees for April 2004. Electrical Wholesaling estimates these numbers based on Current Employment Statistics from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau's County Business Patterns.

M — Manufacturing employees for August 2004. Source: Current Employment Statistics from the Bureau of Labor Statistics

C — Commercial account employees (professional and business services, retail trade, financial activities, educational and health services, leisure and hospitality, and other services) for August 2004.

Source: Current Employment Statistics from the Bureau of Labor Statistics

G — Government employees for August 2004. Source: Current Employment Statistics from the Bureau of Labor Statistics

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