CED COMMITTEE
March 12, 2024
MEMORANDUM
TO: Jestin D. Johnson FROM: Sofia Navarro
City Administrator Interim Director, Economic
& Workforce Development
Department
SUBJECT: Overview of 2024 Economic
Development Action Plan and Status
of 2021 Economic Recovery Plan
DATE: February 22, 2024
City Administrator Approval Date:
RECOMMENDATION
Staff Recommends That The City Council Receive An Informational Report On The Status Of The 2021 Economic Recovery Plan And An Update On The 2024-2029 Economic Development Action Plan.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This informational report provides a background of the past economic development plans, including the report out on the 2021 Economic Recovery Plan and an overview of the development of a 2024-2029 Economic Development Action Plan, a five-year economic development strategy for the City of Oakland (City) to be completed by the end of the year.
Oakland continues to recover from the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021, the City released an Economic Recovery Plan that contained recommendations for addressing the impacts of the pandemic, with an emphasis on closing race and gender disparities and helping women owned and Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) owned small businesses and lower-wage workers recover from the pandemic. This informational report provides a status report of some of the key recommendations contained in the Economic Recovery Plan.
Since the release of the Economic Recovery Plan, Oakland is facing new and continued challenges, such as a recent downturn in the real estate market and high interest rates that make new investment and development challenging, ongoing office vacancies due to increased work from home and hybrid work policies, and an increase in commercial crime, especially burglary, theft and vandalism. In addition, while one-time federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act funds received in late 2020 helped mitigate the immediate Jestin Johnson (Feb 29, 2024 22:09 PST)
Feb 29, 2024
Jestin D. Johnson, City Administrator
Subject: Overview of 2024 Economic Development Action Plan and Status of 2021 Economic Recovery Plan
Date: February 22, 2024 Page 2
impacts of the pandemic on the City’s budget, today the City faces significant budget deficits that must be addressed in other ways.
Against this backdrop, the City is now undertaking a new five-year economic development strategy: the 2024-2029 Economic Development Action Plan. Among other things, as discussed further below, the plan will focus on growing the City’s economy in an equitable way and present strategies for addressing the City’s expected budget deficits.
BACKGROUND/ LEGISLATIVE HISTORY
The economic development work of the City has been guided by several key documents since 2018.
The 2018-2020 Economic Development Strategy
On November 28, 2017, the City Council adopted a
three-year Economic Development Strategy
(Resolution No. 86984 CMS), the first new economic development strategy in more than 20 years. Over 100 stakeholders representing a cross section of Oakland’s economy participated in shaping the Economic Development Strategy, along with multiple City departments that contribute to Oakland’s economic environment, including the Oakland Department of Transportation (OakDOT), Planning and Building Department (PBD), the Mayor’s Office, City Council, Oakland Public Works (OPW), and the Department of Workplace and Employment Standards (DWES, formerly known as Contracts & Compliance).
The Economic Development Strategy established three high-level goals for economic development in Oakland: 1) increase economic productivity, as measured by per capita growth in the Gross Regional Product (GRP); 2) increase economic security, indicated by an increase in the number of Oakland households earning a living wage, disaggregated by race and ethnicity: and 3) reduce racial wealth disparities, as measured by the reduction in Asset Poverty for Black and Latinx households.
The City of Oakland met and exceeded 30 of 60 economic goals and targets set in the 2018- 2020 Economic Development Strategy, including direct services such as supporting small businesses and achieving illegal dumping call response times, as well as targets for enabling others to contribute to Oakland’s economy, such as building housing, and helping residents file for their Earned Income Tax Credits. The City made progress, but did not reach, the goals and targets for an additional 13 measures, including policies and programs scheduled for completion in 2020 that were delayed due to the pandemic.
On April 27, 2021, the City Council received an informational report outlining the status of key
goals and recommendations from the 2018 Economic Development Strategy.
The 2021 Economic Recovery Plan
On September 1, 2021, the City of Oakland released the This plan was the result of work completed by the Oakland Economic Recovery Advisory Council (Advisory Council) and informed by the COVID-19 Racial Disparities Task Force, two task forces were created to guide the City’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2021 Economic Recovery Plan made Jestin D. Johnson, City Administrator
Subject: Overview of 2024 Economic Development Action Plan and Status of 2021 Economic Recovery Plan
Date: February 22, 2024 Page 3
recommendations to improve economic health and equity in Oakland coming out of the pandemic. In particular, the Economic Recovery Plan created a set of priorities and actions from the Advisory Council recommendations with an emphasis on closing race and gender disparities and helping women owned and Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) owned small businesses and lower-wage workers recover from the Pandemic. The Plan identified five core areas of recovery focus:
1. Priority 1: Financial Readiness and Stability – Equitable Small Business Support - Connecting small Oakland businesses to ongoing federal, state, and local recovery funding sources, focusing on Black, indigenous and people of color (BIPOC-owned businesses who had the greatest barriers to successful applications.
2. Priority 2: Equity in Contracting and Grant Making - Integrating vendor assistance and supporting the interdepartmental City effort to increase racial and gender equity in local business contracting and grantmaking.
3. Priority 3: Social Cohesion--Youth Engagement and the Creative Economy - Investing in social cohesion through Cultural Affairs programming such as the Neighborhood Voices grant program and strengthening the creative economy.
4. Priority 4: Growing Demand and Investment - Growing local demand, developing targeted business attraction strategies and positioning Oakland for industrial innovation and investment.
5. Priority 5: Workforce Development - Increasing the number of adults and youth in Oakland’s Workforce Development Board and citywide job training programs, continuing to target ZIP codes with the highest unemployment rates.
Appendix A of this report contains a detailed progress report on the recommendations of the Economic Recovery Plan in each of these 5 priority areas named above
Highlights include:
• Revolving Loan Fund: Disbursed $548,970.91 and made 8 loans in 2022-2023 to small businesses
• Completed 143 on-site business assistance consultations in 2023, 233 in 2022, and 61 during the pilot year starting June 2021
• $2,235,850 Cultural Grants Awarded to support arts and cultural institutions and activities
• Awarded 107 businesses $25,000 Façade and/or Tenant Improvement Program grants • Certified 18 small contractors through Small Contractor Certification Program; 3 have been awarded $4M in City contracts and continue on the on-call list • Over 1,500 adult job seekers were enrolled and trained in Oakland Workforce Investment Board funded programs in high growth sectors such as healthcare, construction, IT and hospitality
Looking Forward: A New Economic Development Action Plan
Jestin D. Johnson, City Administrator
Subject: Overview of 2024 Economic Development Action Plan and Status of 2021 Economic Recovery Plan
Date: February 22, 2024 Page 4
As part of the City’s bi-annual budget process, the City Council directed the City Administrator to develop an economic development plan to grow the tax base, with the goal of completing the plan by late 2024. The next section provides an overview of that effort.
ANALYSIS AND POLICY ALTERNATIVES
The 2024-2029 ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ACTION PLAN
Based on Council’s directive, the Department of Economic and Workforce Development (EWDD) has begun work on a new economic development strategy, the 2024-2029 Economic Development Action Plan.
This section provides a snapshot of the current economic landscape – its challenges and opportunities – informing the creation of the action plan; an overview of the goals and expected contents of the action plan; a summary of baseline Citywide economic data informing the action plan; the approach to community engagement; and a timeline for completing the Economic Development Action Plan.
In addition, this section includes a discussion of major economic development initiatives that EWDD is currently implementing, informed by the past Economic Development Strategy and Economic Recovery Plan. Indeed, while work on the Economic Development Action Plan is underway, EWDD continues its efforts to support the City’s small businesses, bring activity and investment to downtown Oakland and the City’s commercial corridors, and support interdepartmental efforts to make Oakland clean and safe, as further discussed in Section 4 below.
1. Current Economic Context
Oakland is currently grappling with a multitude of both emerging and persistent challenges. The following section underscores some of the pivotal issues that will shape the forthcoming Economic Development Action Plan, alongside significant opportunities ripe for harnessing at this juncture.
Challenges
The City continues to face multiple challenges in this post-pandemic economic recovery period.
City revenue streams rely on a variety of sources related to real estate and business activity, especially property sales tax, business tax and license revenues, all affected by an overall economic slow-down in commercial real estate transfers and activity. Compounding these challenges are concerns surrounding public safety as well as higher than normal commercial vacancies in Downtown, and historically high interest rates which may continue to slow new investment and development in Oakland. The changing office environment resulting in low demand for office spaces, a surge in commercial property crimes, and the increase and adverse effects of unsheltered populations compound these challenges. Additionally, there persists a troubling trend of unequal access to capital and resources for aspiring entrepreneurs, further exacerbating existing disparities. While the economic impact of the pandemic on the economy was somewhat mitigated by American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds, the City continues to face significant projected budget deficit and revenue shortfalls, with a projected $349 deficit in the FY 2023-25 baseline budget. These challenges inform the goals of the action plan.
Jestin D. Johnson, City Administrator
Subject: Overview of 2024 Economic Development Action Plan and Status of 2021 Economic Recovery Plan
Date: February 22, 2024 Page 5
Opportunities
However, along with these challenges are notable opportunities to grow revenues. First and foremost, the City must stabilize the business community and create the conditions for businesses to thrive, creating a City that is clean, safe and responsive, removing obstacles for businesses to expand, create jobs and activate vacancies in targeted areas. For example, Oakland continues to experience high demand for its industrial land, underscoring the significance of Oakland’s role in facilitating goods movement throughout the Bay Area and beyond.
Despite challenges, Oakland's residential population has remained steady and along with the East Bay, it is home to a highly educated and diverse workforce experiencing growth in per capita income--a natural draw for new businesses. After building a record number of housing units, the downtown area has evolved into a vibrant mixed-use residential community, serving as a nexus for arts, culture, and entertainment. Post Pandemic, the arts, culture, and entertainment sectors are experiencing robust job growth. These factors collectively position Oakland to embrace its potential for sustainable development, equitable prosperity, and new investment. See Appendix B (Citywide Economic Assessment). Pursuant to the Citywide Economic Assessment, the top employers are:
• Government
• Health and Social Care
• Construction and Design
• Transportation and Logistics
• Manufacturing, Food production
• Arts and Culture, Entertainment, and Recreation
During the pandemic, major job losses concentrated in retail and entertainment. Since 2021, arts, culture and entertainment jobs continue to grow as the economy expands into outdoor, night-time and new entertainment uses. Employment in Oakland mirrors the Bay Area region and has remained above pre-pandemic employment levels. The East Bay and greater region are anticipated to exceed national employment and GDP growth through 2028.
Small business growth has also remained strong with an estimated 30,000 small businesses and 23,000 residential and commercial landlords. Citywide business closures maintained an average rate of 3,000 per year between 2019 and 2023, 2022 saw large increases, likely, reflecting the impacts of the pandemic.
Like other major cities, Oakland’s office vacancy remains high post-pandemic and Oakland’s Downtown Oakland Specific Plan due to be passed in 2024 will reinforce a mixed-use approach to our city center. As a case study for the constant change in the macroeconomic environment demand for industrial space is strong, with Oakland’s industrial vacancy rate the lowest it has been since 2017.
2. Goals and Contents of the 2024-2029 Economic Development Action Plan Jestin D. Johnson, City Administrator
Subject: Overview of 2024 Economic Development Action Plan and Status of 2021 Economic Recovery Plan
Date: February 22, 2024 Page 6
Most broadly, the Economic Development Action Plan will focus on equitable economic growth and present strategies for addressing the City’s expected budget deficits through revenue generation. It will also focus on a “back to basics” approach, grounded in the idea that supporting business retention, attraction and investment in Oakland the City requires interdepartmental delivery of a clean, safe, and responsive city with services aligned around customer needs. These efforts will begin with a focus on our commercial corridors citywide and the gateways into the City. The anticipated sections of the action plan will include:
• Oakland's Baseline Economic and Demographic Data
• Building an Equitable Economy
• Clean, Safe, and Responsive City Services
• Neighborhoods and Thriving Commercial Corridors, Thriving Neighborhoods • Reimagining Downtown
• Sector Strategies and Job Creation
o Employer-driven, place-based workforce development programs o Supply chain opportunities for local small businesses • Policy Recommendations
• Interdepartmental Action Plan with Key Metrics and Deliverables Equitable Community Engagement
To support the development of the Economic Development Action Plan, EWDD is engaging a diverse cross-section of stakeholders to provide input such as:
• Local businesses, employers, and Oakland's largest companies • Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) and all chambers of commerce • Business representative organizations & associations
• Business technical support and finance organizations particularly for small business such as Community Development Financial Institutions)
• Real estate developers and investors
• Relevant economic, community, cultural, and social organizations • City Departments, Mayor’s Office, Council District Offices • Agency Partners: BART, Caltrans, AC Transit, Port of Oakland, Alameda County Social Services
• Participants (former or current) in workforce development programs
Throughout 2024, EWDD will take the information provided in the citywide assessment (Appendix B) and develop business, employment, and land profiles of City Council Districts, and Neighborhood Commercial Corridor level information. In addition, EWDD will continue to meet with and hold regular service workshops. These meetings assist businesses and their partners to direct City services where they are most needed in corridors and districts. Regular stakeholder convenings engage local business around their needs as we deepen relationships and trust with a broad cross-section of community stakeholders.
Early findings from EWDD’s business engagement with Oakland’s economic development partners have revealed a number of goals and ideas that will be explored further in the action plan:
Jestin D. Johnson, City Administrator
Subject: Overview of 2024 Economic Development Action Plan and Status of 2021 Economic Recovery Plan
Date: February 22, 2024 Page 7
• Focus on business retention: safety, service support and responsiveness across departments to address business obstacles and challenges • City investment to support small business, e.g., emergency response grants • Regulatory and zoning changes to support economic shifts and demand for a diversity of gathering spaces
• Permit assistance – serving as both advocate and ombudsman • Developer and impact fees – deferment, reconsideration, alternatives to stimulate development
• Tax rebates and relief
3. Summary of Initiatives Already Underway
While work on the Economic Development Action Plan moves forward, EWDD continues to support local small businesses, activate downtown and the City’s commercial corridors, and support inter-departmental teams to create the conditions for businesses and neighborhoods to thrive.
Below is a summary of many of the economic development initiatives and programs currently underway:
• Workforce Development
The Oakland Workforce Development Board serves as connector, administrator, and regulator of workforce funding resources that are leveraged by service providers to deliver services to workers and employers in Oakland. The workforce development board brings together stakeholders from various sectors to align workforce programs with the needs of the local economy.
• Neighborhood Business Assistance Program
EWDD offers in-person appointments available at six neighborhood locations throughout Oakland. Advisors assist businesses to navigate the City’s permits and regulatory processes and make referrals for business finance and support.
• Business Improvement Districts
Support 11 Business Improvement Districts (BIDs), in which property owners and/or businesses have voted to pay a special assessment to fund projects and services needed within the neighborhood. BIDs orchestrate a host of supplemental city services including cleaning, community safety, arts and entertainment programs that are intended to enhance municipal services rather than replace them.
• Community Safety Ambassador Program
EWDD provides grants to BIDS and local community-based organizations to support experienced neighborhood resource and safety coordinators, also known as ambassadors, embedded in communities, trained to navigate, and connect City resources with the business community in targeted corridors.
Jestin D. Johnson, City Administrator
Subject: Overview of 2024 Economic Development Action Plan and Status of 2021 Economic Recovery Plan
Date: February 22, 2024 Page 8
• Activate Oakland
An initiative launched in 2023 in partnership with Visit Oakland, Activate Oakland provides grants to organizations and individuals to activate public spaces and support events to reanimate downtown and neighborhood commercial areas while promoting economic recovery. Initial feedback from attendees and businesses has been incredibly positive. More than 50% of event attendees are first time visitors to those commercial areas and 35% are spending money at local businesses as a result of the events – investing money back into small businesses and increasing revenue in commercial corridors.
• Business Retention/Attraction
Pursue and respond to business development opportunities, fulfill requests for information, facilitate connections amongst commercial brokers and real estate actors and support sector and site-specific location, relocation and expansion requests.
Support companies and employers to access regional and State resources such as CHIPS and Science Act, sector and industry specific grants and incentives that attract or expand businesses and create jobs, with a focus on high priority opportunity sites.
• District 6 & District 7 Security Camera Program
Council directed $150K for security cameras in FY22-FY23 for District 6 and District 7. $150K is an initial pilot to support community led camera network in response to community demand for safety strategies.
• Façade and Tenant Improvement Program
In 2023 EWDD awarded $2.9 million to over 100 Oakland small businesses, grants of $25,000 each to improve the interior and exterior of their buildings, including funds for emergency window repair. These grants allow businesses located in high priority commercial corridors to make investments into their businesses to better serve customers.
• Micro Business Support Program for Immigrant Entrepreneurs Newly launched Immigrant Micro Business Support Program in partnership with The Unity Council and Feed the Hunger Fund providing targeted support to Oakland’s micro- enterprise and small businesses, with a focus on serving immigrant and women owned businesses through workshops, financial coaching, $50,000 in grants for mobile food vendors and $250,000 in low-interest loans supported by the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz).
• Cultural Grants Program
Neighborhood Voices for Festivals builds belonging in Oakland neighborhoods through culturally engaged festival culture. Grants amplify the cultural expressions, stories, and heritage found within Oakland's neighborhoods and their community members who historically have not received equitable investments of resources or recognition. Last year, the Cultural Affairs Division of EWD awarded $1,186,350 in grants for Festival and Organizational Assistance and awarded $600,000 in grants for Organizational Projects and Individual Projects categories. The Cultural Affairs division also recently created a grant program to support the City’s teaching artist workforce, successfully raising Jestin D. Johnson, City Administrator
Subject: Overview of 2024 Economic Development Action Plan and Status of 2021 Economic Recovery Plan
Date: February 22, 2024 Page 9
$450,500 from the National Endowment for the Arts to award up to $10,000 to arts organization to supplement teaching artist salaries.
• New Development and Interim Activity on City-owned Property EWDD oversees new development on city property, as well as interim uses on City property, to increase investment in Oakland, provide needed affordable housing, and to keep property active and in community service. Today, there are more than 1,000 units of affordable housing either under construction or in the pipeline on city property.
Several significant commercial projects are also underway, notably the new headquarters for the non-profit Samuel Merritt University, a $240 million project that will bring 10,000 students to Oakland and provides training for high quality jobs in the healthcare industry. EWDD also oversees interim uses on City land, providing critical community programs and activations, such as the Akoma Market in East Oakland.
• Special Activities
Streamlined special events permitting process, moving it out of OPD and into EWDD with equity-based sliding scale permit fees, a fair, timely and transparent approval process, and a new easy to navigate online application, EWDD has processed over 500 special event applications in the last year, double the number the City processed in 2022.
Interdepartmental Programs to Make Oakland Safe and Clean
In keeping with the 2018 strategy, EWDD relies on City services for a stable business climate.
Maintaining a clean and safe environment is critical for economic development. Therefore, interdepartmental collaboration is essential. Current interdepartmental initiatives include coordination between City departments and the business community through site and facilitation of sector specific working groups such as:
• Oakland FRESH
In priority streets in East, Central and West Oakland, EWDD is partnering with City Services to identify businesses in need of support for Recycling and Waste, abandoned autos, graffiti abatement, and cleaning up illegal dumping. Business Development is working alongside the Neighborhood Services Teams to integrate City-funded Ambassadors through trainings for Adopt A Spot, Public Safety, 311 Reporting
• Neighborhood Enhanced Service Teams (NEST)
Piloting the approach with 7
th St and the West Oakland Neighborhood Services Team, Business Development has expanded our facilitation of service links for businesses working alongside Neighborhood Services to improve clean up and incident reporting, Adopt a Spot and beautification projects and public safety services and support.
• Night Time Economy Working Group
In response to the escalation of service requests coming from business, the Uptown Downtown Business Improvement District and property owners, Business Development opened a monthly business workshop to identify challenges in the Night Time Economy. Carrying over the interdepartmental approach from NEST, City services are invited to discuss options for code enforcement, illegal vending, graffiti, dangerous driving and crime. Service coordination and Jestin D. Johnson, City Administrator
Subject: Overview of 2024 Economic Development Action Plan and Status of 2021 Economic Recovery Plan
Date: February 22, 2024 Page 10
business partnership helped produce the concept and structure of the Franklin St. Parking Garage ($5 After 5 Parking Pilot).
4. Timeline: 2024 Economic Development Action Plan
The Economic Development Action Plan will be completed by the end of 2024. Table 1 below shows the general schedule for completing the action plan.
TABLE 1 –Schedule
Timeframe Work Product
February 28, 2024 Complete Citywide Economic Assessment (see Appendix B) Apr – Sep 2024 Economic Assessment by City Council District Stakeholder Engagements
Oct – Dec 2024 Economic Assessment by Commercial Corridor Business Profile Report
Final Economic Development Action Plan
CONCLUSION
The 2024 – 2029 Economic Development Action Plan aims to leverage Oakland’s position in the region as an economic engine, harnessing our assets -- our legacy as industrial and manufacturing hub, home to a highly educated and diverse workforce, and a leader in housing and commercial development -- to create a safe, clean, and responsive City. The action plan will be a coordinated plan to stabilize businesses with a focus on safety, investing in commercial corridors, and removing obstacles for continued investment.
ACTION REQUESTED OF THE CITY COUNCIL
Staff Recommends That The City Council Receive An Informational Report On The Status Of The 2021 Economic Recovery Plan And An Update On The 2024-2029 Economic Development Action Plan.
Jestin D. Johnson, City Administrator
Subject: Overview of 2024 Economic Development Action Plan and Status of 2021 Economic Recovery Plan
Date: February 22, 2024 Page 11
For questions regarding this report, please contact Cristy Johnston Limon, Deputy Director, Economic and Workforce Development Director at [email protected].
Respectfully submitted,
SOFIA NAVARRO
Interim Director, Economic & Workforce
Development Department
Reviewed by:
Cristy Johnston Limon, Deputy Director
Economic & Workforce Development
Department
Prepared by:
Shawnee Keck, Urban Economic Analyst
Economic & Workforce Development
Department
Appendices:
A. Overview of 2021 Economic Recovery Plan Implementation B. Oakland Citywide Economic Assessment 2021-2022 Data
B.1 Equity Assessment
B.2 Downtown Monitor
EWD Recovery Actions
1: Financial Readiness and Stability – Equitable Small Business Support Immediate Goal: Support small businesses in getting capital-ready to shrink racial and geographic gaps in access to stimulus, grant funding and other financing.
Economic Recovery Plan Status Oakland Economic
Recovery Advisory Council
Recommendations
Status
Partner with CDFIs, Business Service Organizations (BSOs) and community-based organizations to build awareness
and provide pre-application technical assistance to BIPOC and women-owned small businesses to apply for specific
Federal/ State/Local incentive programs.
Economic Development Assistance
(EDA) federal grant in partnership with
Black Cultural Zone (BCZ) and The
Unity Council provided business
assistance to 353 small businesses in
low-income neighborhoods during
2021 to 2023 to address the impact
that Covid had on these brick & mortar
businesses. This EDA grant also
includes the small construction
contractor technical assistance
program with Merriwether Williams,
the consultant contracted to address
barriers to doing business with the City
of Oakland and supporting small
contractors becoming certified to do
business with Oakland.
Support research on the
needs of Black, Indigenous
and other POC-owned
businesses owners during
and post-COVID
Rec
ognize the structural
barriers to capital for Black
owned and other POC-
owned businesses and
design
programs to address them
2024 Cultural
Strategist
Program as
part of the
Economic
Development
Action Plan
Re-launch the City’s Revolving Loan Fund (RLF). Disbursed $548,970.91 and 8 loans 2022-2023
Pilot remote Business Assistance Centers to serve more
businesses in the flatlands and grow trust in City business services.
Completed 143 on-site business
assistance consultations in 2023, 233
in 2022, and 61 during the pilot year
starting June 2021
Identify business owners
and workers who lack an
Ongoing
Appendix A
online presence/ internet
access and connect them
to
resources
Continue to work with the Revenue Department to gather
disaggregated race and gender demographic business
license data and track revenue increases for Oakland’s
BIPOC and women-owned businesses.
Underway Commit resources to
gathering the quantitative
and qualitative data
needed to center equity
and target resources
effectively
Business
Survey in 2024
Budget
Request
Longer Term Goals: Grow Oakland’s Revolving Loan Fund to $5M to offer:
• Bridge loans – low- or no-interest loans until
longer-term loans received
• Emergency microloans >$10K
• Forgivable loans > $5K
• Low-interest loans for growing enterprises, focus
on women and BIPOC business owners
Exploring partnerships to leverage
investment
2: Equity in Contracting and Grant Making
Immediate Goal: Support the interdepartmental effort, led by the City Administrator’s Office (CAO) and Department of Workplace and Employment Standards (DWES) (formerly Contracts and Compliance) to increase access for local BIPOC and women owned businesses and nonprofits to participate in government contracts.
Economic Recovery Plan Status Oakland Economic
Recovery Advisory Council
Recommendations
Status
Deploy $500,000 U.S. Economic Development
Administration (EDA) grant and the $500,000 Council-
directed Construction Resource Center (CRC) Grant to
provide training for 60-70 local contractors over
a two-year period. Track outcomes.
267 participants, at 27
sessions/events; 18 certified to
contract with the City; $4M in City
contracts were awarded to 3 small
contractors; improved marketing and
training materials and increased
attendance at contractor events.
Partnership between CDFI and
Merriwether Williams to provide
support to small contractors to access
contract financing, which will provide
upfront loans to assist the small
contractors in starting contracts
without incurring debt while awaiting
payments.
Work with the Information Technology Department to
identify funding for and develop a public directory of local businesses that is compatible with iSupplier.
Provide funding and
support efforts to create a
comprehensive, connected
single platform for B2B
connection that enables
large businesses to procure
supplies from local and
BIPOC-led companies
Forge consensus on a
single, customer-facing
platform and support local
business efforts to develop
their listings
Partner with DWES to provide technical assistance for
Minority Business Enterprises/Woman Business
Enterprises (MBEs/WBEs) that want to become certified.
2021 – present hold monthly meetings
with City departments (DOT, DPW,
DWES, EWDD) and partners
Merriwether Williams and CRC to
address small business contracting
barriers, make changes in City policies
and practices to ensure more equity in
the City’s contracting process. This
has included 1) modifying the City
certification process by simplifying the
application and accelerating the
approval time for contractors to be
added to the certification list; 2)
allowing the small contractors to
report payroll in compliance with the
prevailing wage requirement by
working directly with City contract
compliance staff; 3) increasing access
to applying to be listed on the on-call
list to be considered for City contracts;
4) sharing City bid opportunities with
all contractors; 5) establishing a
mentor program to match larger
established contractors with access to
certified small businesses to meet the
City's requirement to include
Small/Local Businesses as part of their
submitted bids; 6) preparing small
trucking companies that provide
Foster business
partnerships to boost the
recovery of
BIPOC-owned businesses
through purchasing
contracts
and equity investments
debris hauling services to meet the
environmental certification
requirements.
Bring a recommendation for program changes to City
Council by Fall 2021 to the Façade and Tenant
Improvement grant program to remove access barriers
and close racial disparities.
107 FTIP recipients, with 100 of those
awarded in Priority Neighborhoods as
defined by the OakDOT Geographic
Equity Toolbox
Longer Term Goals: Develop targets to close disparities in grants and contracting throughout City government and continue to evaluate departmental processes to remove barriers for small/ local BIPOC and women-owned businesses.
3: Social Cohesion – Youth Engagement and the Creative Economy Immediate Goal: Engage BIPOC youth and cultural arts voices in recovery planning and strengthen internal and external partnerships to increase social cohesion and community resilience.
Economic Recovery Plan Status Oakland Economic
Recovery Advisory Council
Recommendations
Status
Expand the Neighborhood Voices grant program to
support arts and culture through 2022. Encourage and
track applications from ZIP Codes 94601, 94603, 94605,
94606, 94607, and 94621, which rank high in Oakland’s
Community Stressors Index.
Neighborhood Voices awarded 54
grants in zip codes 94601, 94603,
94605, 94606, 94607, and 94621
which represented 50% of all activities
in grant program
Develop a creative economy business focus by identifying and formalizing a partnership with one intermediary arts organization to provide business support for cultural
organizations.
$2.2M in grants awarded to nonprofit
arts organizations in 2022-2023
$380K awarded to Visit Oakland to
fund community events to activate
commercial corridors in high priority
neighborhoods
Distribute CARES Act
funding to support artists
and non-profit arts
organizations and provide
technical assistance to help
organizations adapt to new
models for revenue and
space
Flex Streets
Special
Activities 2023
Support the expansion and development of community
markets that provide opportunities for vendors, artisans, artists, and makers.
Support three new community markets and develop
infrastructure to grow additional spaces.
From 2020-2013, EWDD Real Estate
disbursed City Council funding for Lake
Merritt vendor market, Red
Indigenous Market, Akoma Market,
Unity Council Night Market
Explore flexibility in permit
and public safety fees for
cultural organizations to
reopen using outdoor
space
safely
Fund parklet materials in
areas outside of BIDs using
CARES funds
Align with the State’s
home-based kitchen laws
and
work with local food
vendors to legalize
operations
Streamline the special events process to encourage more arts, youth and other cultural events and remove barriers for BIPOC-led groups.
Complete
In 2022 the Special Permits Division
issued the following permits: 540
cannabis, 280 amplified sound, 237
film, 97 mobile food vending, 43
cabaret, 28 massage, 12 secondhand
dealer, 9 charitable solicitation, 5
bingo, 2 carnival and 1 theater
Longer Term Goal: Incorporate social cohesion as an economic development strategic goal with clearly defined outcomes and metrics 4: Growing Demand and Investment
Immediate Goals: Execute an expanded city-wide shop local marketing campaign to encourage consumers to spend their dollars locally. Develop a business attraction strategy focused on industrial lands. Support businesses through the permitting process.
Economic Recovery Plan Status Oakland Economic
Recovery Advisory Council
Recommendations
Status
Run an expanded “Think Oakland First” year-round
marketing campaign to encourage consumers to shop
locally. Total social media, outdoor and print impressions:
6,800,000; Unique Web Page Visitors: 7,500.
• In 2023 there were 562
visitors to ThinkOaklandFirst
website excluding forwards to
Visit Oakland’s holiday website
which overlapped with this
campaign; Reached 2,469
users and garnered 81
interactions with the 2023
holiday campaign on social
media. (Only did 3 Think
Oakland First social media
posts this year)
• In 2022, there were 1,188
visitors to ThinkOaklandFirst
website, with 17% of visitors
engaging with the material;
Reached 7,432 users and
garnered 194 interactions with
the 2022 Think Oakland First
Holiday Campaign on social
media.
Develop a business attraction proposal to attract, grow, and stabilize core businesses in targeted locations.
Design and implement Thriving
Corridors Plan, a neighborhood-based
economic development strategy
Analyze and project how
Bay Area employment in
the
recovery will change from
pre-COVID times
2024 EDAP
Work with the Planning & Building Department (PBD) to
develop standard operating procedures and enhanced
tools to help businesses navigate the permit process
In 2023, the Neighborhood Business
Assistance team responded to:
• 20 Property/ Location
requests
• 17 permit support inquiries
• 9 Zoning Dept. inquiries
• 21 Financing/Loan/Grant
inquiries
In 2022 the Neighborhood Business
Assistance team responded to:
• 32 property and location
Requests
• 15 permit support inquiries
• 14 zoning assistance
Flex Streets
Consider a temporary use
category in the City
Planning
Code to allow ongoing
flexibility and prevent long-
term
vacant storefronts
Position Oakland for industrial innovation and expanded local manufacturing. Improve occupancy of vacant
industrial sites by 10% over one year.
Oakland Events and Communications
2022
• 2 sector support events
(Manufacturing Week, 3 site
visits)
• 8 city-funded workshops
during Small Business Week
• 220 attendees of Small
Business Week and business
events
Longer Term Goals: Streamline and clarify the BID creation and renewal process and support the new BIDs and merchant organizations in the flatlands. Assess the feasibility of a cannabis BID or partnership organization. Attract new firms to Oakland’s industrial areas and increase the number of good jobs for local residents by 250 by 2025.
5: Workforce Development
Immediate Goals: Upskill and reskill low-wage workers who have been displaced or are at high risk of displacement to reduce racial disparities in unemployment. Provide expanded opportunities for Oakland’s youth to find good local jobs.
Economic Recovery Plan Status Oakland Economic
Recovery Advisory Council
Recommendations
Status
Expand Year-Round and Summer Youth Employment
Program, continuing to prioritize Black, Latinx, Native American, and Pacific Islander youth residing in East
Oakland, Fruitvale, and West Oakland. Include new
placements in cultural arts organizations and engage the Youth Commission in Youth workforce program planning
and design.
OWDB partners with the Oakland Fund
for Children and Youth (OFCY) to fund
three (3) youth service providers, two
(2) of which are also run year-round
WIOA programs. Over 1500 young
people were served during the 2022
summer via the above-mentioned
partnership, other department
summer jobs, and partnership with
OUSD.
Increase the number of adult jobseekers trained through Oakland Workforce Development Board-funded training
programs in 2021-2022 from 100-150 to 300. Target
programs to support job training and placement in fast- growing industries including Healthcare, Construction, IT, and Hospitality, consistent with the current Local
Workforce Development Plan.
451 adult job seekers were enrolled
and trained.
Gather data and conduct
racial impact analysis to
name disparities in
industry sectors
Identify sectors with
growing hiring needs
Consistent with both
regional and local
Economic Development
Plans, coordinate with
cities on recovery planning
that names disparities and
focuses on increasing
mobility, security and
wealth for low-wage
workers
Equitable
Economy
chapter of the
2024 EDAP
Target workforce services
to Oakland ZIP Codes with
the
highest unemployment
Analyze and report on
wage and hiring disparities
Identify funding and create a marketing campaign to
increase awareness and use of Oakland’s three American
Job Centers of California (AJCCs), targeting ZIP Codes with the highest unemployment rates.
Completed – AJCC's in partnership
with OWDB conducted outreach
activities via in person engagement
and social media to job seekers in
targeted zip codes.
Complete an asset mapping and evaluation of all city-wide adult and youth employment programming to align
strategies and identify opportunities.
Asset mapping was completed and
produced into a report by a FUSE
Executive Fellow in summer of 2022.
Longer Term Goals: Increase the number of Earn and Learn opportunities and job placements for Oakland youth. Market the Metrix online learning platform and address access barriers such as lack of computers, access to the internet, and digital literacy. Consider increasing youth wages above minimum wage for Summer 2022 and beyond. Explore and identify funding for a mobile AJCC for underserved communities with an emphasis on majority BIPOC communities in deep East Oakland.
Oakland Economic Recovery Advisory Council Recommendations (not included in the Recovery Plan) Status Social Safety Net
Continue to advocate for a Guaranteed Income and work
locally to build the infrastructure to distribute cash
assistance
Combine rent relief with landlord-tenant mediation and
access to City housing services to leverage assistance
into longer-term stability
Support Guaranteed Income demonstrations that
prioritize those most in need
Develop and support policies for healthcare, childcare, and eldercare for long-term unemployed
Expand safe childcare and learning options for Oakland youth Ensure unemployed workers have continuous health
coverage
Appendix B: Oakland Citywide Economic Assessment
February 27, 2024
1. Overview
In the Oakland 2024 Economic Development Action Plan (EDAP) Economic Assessment, we examine the status of Citywide economic data. Picking up from the 2018 Economic Development Strategy, we continue to analyze the time series for employment and real estate data from:
• Real estate platform CoStar, 2023
• California Employment Development Department, 2022 and 2023 • American Community Survey Census, 2021
Economic and Workforce Development’s Business Development Team has also expanded the economic evidence base to add in several new datasets:
• City’s Business License, 2023
• Alameda County Assessor’s Parcel information, 2022
• Zoning layers
This aligned view considers factors in the regulatory and built environments as determinants of economic productivity.
Consistent with the
• City’s General Plan Update
• Housing and Community Development Strategic Action Plan • the Equity Climate Action Plan and
• Belonging in Oakland, A Cultural Development Plan
The 2024 Economic Development Action Plan (EDAP) expands the annual economic assessment with an intentional focus on geography. EWDD follows other City departments’ movement towards geographic measurement of service need such as the OakDOT Geographic Equity Toolbox and the most recent census tract assessment in the Environmental Justice Element of the City of Oakland’s General Plan.
In this first report we introduce the analysis of Oakland’s Business License data to illustrate the concentration and distribution of Oakland’s businesses revealing the city’s commercial corridors.
Our geographic lens continues with report two, due out in Q2 2024 (Apr-June). Our second economic assessment will consider business, employment, and land profiles of City Council Districts. We also draw on Census data to detail the City Council District consumer profile. This information helps inform the 2024 community engagement strategy and workshops with partners, City Council and City Services as we build the EDAP.
Using both identification of priority census tracts from City studies and the view of business activity enables us to determine the City’s Priority Commercial Corridors. To support our work with local business groups, we have been assembling corridor business, employment and parcel information along with a baseline of their service needs. This frontline data enables EWDD to build a local profile of our commercial corridors alongside the businesses invested in them. The Action Plan will include Corridor Economic Assessments identifying commercial areas with high crime, complaints, and vacancies. This analysis together provides the evidence base for equitable distribution of engagement and resources.
2. Oakland Citywide Economic Assessment
A. Business Tax and License for Business Owners and Landlords Anyone operating or doing business in the City of Oakland is required to file and pay an annual business tax. This includes commercial and residential landlords or anyone renting or subletting a room.
Businesses with headquarters outside the city but operating in the City must also pay for a business tax certificate. All Oakland based businesses obtain a Zoning Clearance prior to applying for a Business Tax Certificate. Renewals are due by March 1st each year.
A.1 Establishing A Business Geography
The importance of including the Business License dataset in the economic assessments is first to highlight the geography of business in Oakland. Presently, City data is measured at the neighborhood or street level by Oakland Police Department Police Beats. In April 2005, City Council Resolution 79235 established the Police Beats measure. These would “conform as nearly as possible to the natural boundaries of neighborhoods and communities in the City of Oakland, taking into account historical neighborhood, natural and artificial boundaries such as major thoroughfares and highways, shopping and commercial districts, and public school attendance areas. The beat boundaries shall be reviewed from time to time to accommodate the natural evolution of population and neighborhood boundaries.
Each police beat should, to the extent feasible, contain between 5,000 and 7,000 residents.” 1 The City’s
service performance and Neighborhood Service Teams are still organized around these units.
In the two decades since the Resolution was passed, geographic measurement has become standard for services and organizations in pursuit of equity. Highlighting the commercial corridors of the city is the first step to understanding the needs of different corridors. This analysis provides a data led understanding of how the economy is physically organized in Oakland as historically it was no accident where people were allowed to own and patronize businesses. Redlining in Oakland still impacts service delivery and investment in different neighborhoods. Commercial corridor analysis can help EWDD target government resources to the areas of the City that need public service investment as a condition of capital investment.
1 https://cao-94612.s3.amazonaws.com/documents/Resolution-79235-5.17.05.pdf
Figure 1 Oakland’s Commercial Areas
Figure 1, the map above, demonstrates the outline of commercial and mixed-use zoning and parcel use Codes. Figure 1 also includes the location of the majority of Oakland businesses.
We isolate business location in Figure 2 which maps only where Oakland Business License data records a business address on a street. Many of these businesses map on to residential zones indicating just under half of the businesses with Oakland licenses are not located in an official commercial property as expected.
Figure 2 Oakland Business License Locations 2023
Figure 2 demonstrates high concentrations of firms in Downtown and along International and MacArthur Boulevards. A closer examination of the number of businesses per street across the city shows 1,710 streets with businesses on them, 4% of these streets have 100 or more businesses. Figure 2 shows higher concentrations of businesses in red and orange and lower concentrations in yellow. Only 9% of city streets with businesses have between 50-100 firms. The vast majority, roughly 87% of commercial corridors across the City have 50 or less firms. Many of these businesses are located within residential mixed-use properties.
Figure 3 lists the streets with 150 businesses or more, Oakland’s Major Commercial Corridors. Many of these streets with high numbers of Oakland Business Licenses run through long stretches of the city displaying different corporate, cultural and sectoral identities within different geographic segments. The majority of commercial corridors, with 150 or more business, are located outside of Downtown in community neighborhoods. This analysis underscores the need to consider business geography for equity and to effectively capture Oakland’s local commercial areas.
Figure 3 Major Commercial Corridors, 150+ businesses, 2023 Number Street Name Number of Businesses per Street
1 MACARTHUR BLVD 668
2 FRANKLIN ST 534
3 INTERNATIONAL BLVD 495
4 9TH ST 307
5 FOOTHILL BLVD 278
6 WEBSTER ST 246
7 BROADWAY 233
8 7TH ST 231
9 COLISEUM WY 229
10 MARTIN LUTHER KING JR WY 225
11 8TH ST 224
12 10TH ST 221
13 LAKESIDE DR 202
14 FRUITVALE AV 187
15 30TH ST 182
16 BANCROFT AV 178
17 MOUNTAIN BLVD 178
18 PIEDMONT AV 161
19 EMBARCADERO 153
20 VERNON ST 153
21 HARRISON ST 152
22 38TH AV 151
23 SEMINARY AV 151
24 12TH ST 150
25 FAIRMOUNT AV 150
A.2 Business Demography
The Oakland Business License data is created by business owners filling out the application for a business license. In the process of answering questions on the application, some owners will fill out all fields, some owners will not. EWDD’s Business Development team has generated an analysis of fields with high numbers of answers thereby creating a decent confidence in the reported variable.
As an internal City service, Business Development can see significant variation in the number of applications per year since 2018 when the Business License and Tax Revenue service installed a new database which effectively reset the annual count. In 2014, a similar upgrade entirely replaced old records so a long-run time series is not possible. In addition to structural changes to the dataset, the information provided by owners can also include duplicate businesses, flawed address information and lagged business status information. Business closures are an example where the data measures the owner’s communication with the City about the status of their business, sometimes a closure can take a few years to discover.
The Business License dataset; however, is the most fundamental layer of data within the economic evidence base as it shows where Oakland’s economy is concentrated and located. EWDD will continue to track the quality data to report the best available information about Oakland’s businesses. This will be imperative for an equity analysis as we monitor the locations of growth and determinants of economic productivity.
Business Count 2023
Oakland’s measure of the number of businesses is separated by the licensing of property owners. In 2023, the total number of Business Licenses was 53,237 and 31,531 non-landlord Businesses Licenses and an estimated 21,706 were Landlord Business Licenses. Each year in 2021, 2022 and in 2023 around 40% of the total Business Licenses were Landlord licenses.
Working with a total number of 31, 531 businesses, the License Status of these businesses is shown in Figure 4. In 2023, 91% of Business Licenses were categorized as Licensed and 9% show other statuses indicating the service process of granting a business a license to operate in the City. The vast majority make the annual March deadline. Annual Citywide business closures maintained an average rate of 3,000 per year between 2019 and 2023, 2022 saw large increases reflecting the impacts of the pandemic.
It is imperative to note that a measurement of New or Closed businesses, while reported monthly by the City’s Revenue team, is only a partial measure of actual business status and can take up to two years to verify. The database change in 2018 also eliminated previous records of New and Closed designations so a long run comparative time series is not possible with this data presently. The 2023 status is also missing around 1000 businesses based on the expected totals. This picture is partial and requires a complimentary analysis of Business Start and End date which Business Development will add in the future. This will also help us determine the Age of our businesses and locate Oakland’s legacy businesses.
Figure 4 License Status 2023
Status Number
Licensed 27,497
Invoiced 691
Active 623
New 538
Renewal Sent 327
Closed 198
Other 214
Business License Sector
Figure 5 illustrates the sectoral composition of Oakland’s businesses. As this is the first time this has been demonstrated, it is important to exhibit the sectors plainly. While the residential landlords have been removed, Real Estate as a business sector is still Oakland’s leading industry by number of businesses. This sector includes property management, real estate finance, appraisers and agents.
It is notable that the 2
nd largest sector concentration, over 4,000 business licenses, is Blank. This is due to the business owner not entering a sector on their Business License application. It is common for about 10% of the sector codes to include Blanks between 2019-2023.
In 2023, the Construction industry had the 3rd largest number of businesses 2,371. Given the 16,770 of new housing units and several new office towers, this industry is a complement to real estate rental and leasing as well.
Professional Scientific and Technical Services make up the next largest sector at 2,211. These industries are comprised of consultants, management firms and technology businesses. The data shows 1,055 retail businesses, these are primarily
Figure 5 Business License by Sector 2023
NAICS Sector Number of Businesses
Real Estate Rental and Leasing 13,782
Blank 4,368
Construction 2,371
Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services 2,211 Other Services (except Public Administration) 1,665
Accommodation and Food Services 1,175
Retail Trade 45 1,055
Administrative and Support and Waste Management and
Remediation Services
1,033
Retail Trade 44 732
Health Care and Social Assistance 727
Wholesale Trade 349
Information 320
Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation 275
Manufacturing 33 267
Manufacturing 31 222
Transportation and Warehousing 48 212
Educational Services 171
Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting 168
Finance and Insurance 112
Public Administration (not covered in economic census) 107 Utilities 87
Manufacturing 32 76
NAICS Sector Number of Businesses
Transportation and Warehousing 49 38
Management of Companies and Enterprises 5
Mining, Quarrying, and Oil and Gas Extraction 2
In 2022, Oakland voters approved Measure T, which repealed and replaced Chapter 5.04 of the Oakland Municipal Code with a new tiered, progressive business tax structure. As part of the evidence base to support the measure, consultants for the City’s Revenue team generated an estimated picture of employment and income. This data shows that 84% of Oakland businesses reported revenue under $250,000. This data has a lower reporting rate and we consider this an estimate. It gives the economic assessment a baseline value to track Citywide annual revenue growth.
Figure 6 Oakland Business Revenue 2021
The same research estimated the number of employees of businesses in Oakland. Figure 7 shows that 54% of Oakland businesses have less than 10 employees. The Small Business Administration defines small business by firm revenue ranging from $1 million to over $40 million and by employment from 100 to over 1,500 employees. By this definition, the majority of Oakland’s businesses are very small.
Figure 7 Business License Employment 2021
B. Oakland Employment
Oakland’s employment data provides a robust picture into the economy as a second layer of the economic evidence base. In comparison to the Business License data, the employment data comes from employers reporting the State on a regular basis and has long been used in Oakland’s economic analysis.
There are two measures of employment, a picture from Employers that measures their employees who may not live in Oakland and the Labor Market Information about Residents. These are two different perspectives on employment as the number and type of jobs offered by Oakland’s economy is not the same as the Labor Market Information about Oakland’s Residents. We examine each dataset here.
Again, we pick up from the variables covered in the 2018 Economic Development Strategy. A difference from previous reports using the CA State Economic Development Data is the inclusion of all employers regardless of number of employees.
B.1 Oakland Employers
Figure 8 reports Oakland’s annual number of employers. The total number of employers has grown every year since 2010. The number of employers in 2022 was 21, 613 slightly higher than previous years.
The number of employers held steady throughout the COVID-19 Pandemic and recovered quickly.
Figure 8 Employer Count 2010-2022
Equally, the number of jobs offered by Oakland’s economy grew rapidly in 2017 and hit an all-time high in 2020 with 199,909 jobs. In 2022, Oakland’s economy had mostly recovered from Pandemic job losses to 192, 915. A similar pattern occurs with employees as shown in Figure 9.
Figure 9 Employee Count 2010-2022
Figure 10 shows the most prominent sectors for jobs located in Oakland. Employment sectors differ from Business License sectors but have a similar system issue. A large concentration of “employees” in Health and Social Care are recorded in this data but are paid by the CA Dept of Social Services to individuals. Even accounting for this in the data, Health and Social Care is the largest employment sector in Oakland with 43,777 jobs. Professional, Scientific, and Technical is the second highest employment
industry in Oakland. These include legal services, accounting, programming, architecture and design services and scientific research.
Figure 10 Oakland Employees by Sector 2022
NAICS Sector Employment
Health Care and Social Assistance 43777
Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services 16570
Educational Services 15573
Accommodation and Food Services 13313
Public Administration 11652
Transportation and Warehousing 48 11617
Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services 8544
Other Services (except Public Administration) 8528
Transportation and Warehousing 49 7942
Construction 7516
Finance and Insurance 7172
Retail Trade 44 6093
Management of Companies and Enterprises 6041
Wholesale Trade 4892
Retail Trade 45 4628
Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation 3802
Information 3649
Real Estate and Rental and Leasing 3323
Manufacturing 33 2727
Utilities 2009
Manufacturing 31 1914
Manufacturing 32 1232
Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting 377
None 20
Mining, Quarrying, and Oil and Gas Extraction 4
Figure 10 also shows the number of jobs in Accommodation and Food Service, 13313 in 2022.
Figure 11 Oakland Top Employers
Employer Name 2022 Employee Count
1 KAISER1 12000+
2 CITY OF OAKLAND2 9000+
3 STATE OF CALIFORNIA3 5000+
4 BART 3500+
5 ALAMEDA COUNTY4 3500+
6 FEDERAL GOVERNEMENT5 3500+
7 SOUTHWEST AIRLINES CO 2500+
8 CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL & RESEARCH CENT 2000+
9 FEDERAL EXPRESS CORP 2000+
10 UNITED PARCEL SERVICE 2000+
11 EAST BAY MUNICIPAL UTILITY DISTRICT 1500+
12 SUTTER BAY HOSPITALS 1500+
13 METRO MAINTENANCE INC. 1000+
14 BLUE SHIELD OF CALIFORNIA 1000+
15 MANOS HOME CARE 1000+
16 UNIVERSAL SECURITY SOLUTIONS 1000+
17 ALAMEDA CONTRA COSTA TRANSIT DISTRICT 1000+
18 ROBERT HALF INTERNATIONAL, INC. 1000+
19 EAST BAY REGIONAL PARK DISTRICT 500+
20 10X GENOMICS, INC. 500+
21 KIPP BAY AREA SCHOOLS 500+
22 PERALTA COMMUNITY COLLEGE DISTRICT 500+
23 LA CLINICA DE LA RAZA 500+
Total 63000+
Figure 11 shows Oakland’s top employers which hosted more than 63,000 of the 192,915 employees in Oakland in 2022. The Top Employers are similar those posted in 2018 with high levels of government employment and several private firms such as Kaiser Permanente and Southwest Airlines that have been in Oakland for decades. Collectively, these firms provide more than 63,000 jobs.
B.2 Oakland Resident Employment
Next this economic assessment changes the employment analysis changes to a focus on residents’ employment rather than the jobs offered in Oakland’s economy. Figure 12 charts the Labor Force Participation of Oakland residents between 2010-2023.
Figure 12 Oakland Labor Force Participation 2010-2023
Figure 12 demonstrates how between 2010-2019, Oakland saw a rapid increase in residents participating in the labor force with a high in 2019 of 216,500 residents. During the COVID-19 Pandemic, the number of residents in the labor force fell along with the population to the 2021 level of 207,900.
Residents are returning to the labor force with a total number of 210, 800 in 2023, higher than 2020.
In Figure 13, the unemployment rate among residents follows a similar pattern and has also recovered in 2023 to a rate of 4.7 down from 12% in 2020.
Figure 12 Unemployment Rate 2010-2023
C Property and Real Estate
C.1 Commercial Property Rent
Oakland Office Rent 2010-2023
Oakland Industrial Rent 2010-23
Oakland Retail Rent 2010-2023
C. 2 Oakland Commercial Property and Real Estate Vacancy Oakland Office Vacancy 2010 – 2023
Oakland Industrial Vacancy 2010 – 2023
Oakland Retail Vacancy 2010 – 2023
Oakland Residential Sales 2010 – 2023
Source Zillow, 2023
Oakland Residential Rent 2014 – 2023
D Oakland Residential Census and Consumer Profile
D.1 Oakland Race & Ethnicity, 2021
D.2 Education and Occupations
D.3 Household Income