Silicon Valley Deletes Middle-Income Jobs

Silicon Valley is bleeding middle-income jobs, the New York Times reports. Clerks, secretaries, service reps and others earning $30,000 to $80,000 a year fell from 52% to 46% of workers from 2002 to 2006, according to a new report. The trend threatens the region's upward-mobility track, one author of the 2008 Index of Silicon Valley report said: “If you lose the middle, it’s harder to support the top."

The report did offer good news for the region. It is outpacing the nation in overall job gains, partly due to a rise in median household income and international talent flowing into the state. But a 4% rise in low-wage jobs still highlights a growing workplace divide in the nation's tech capital. (More Silicon Valley stories.)