The rate was unchanged from the revised rate for January, and the county actually added 800 jobs during that time. The February rate was down significantly from the 2.4 percent jobless rate of a year ago. All the February figures are preliminary and may be revised next month. Statewide figures are seasonally adjusted, but county figures are not. Or perhaps the layoffs simply haven't shown up in the unemployment figures yet.
Economists say the answer is probably some of each.
There is definitely a slowdown going on, Henton said, and as the recent layoff announcements have demonstrated, Silicon Valley isn't immune to national trends. Since January, such valley giants as Hewlett-Packard, Intel, Cisco Systems and JDS Uniphase have announced they will shed some local workers. But it also takes several months for layoffs to register in the unemployment rate. The rate is determined by a monthly survey of households and it includes only those who are not working and are looking for jobs. After all, many of the layoffs announced in recent weeks haven't taken effect yet.