Bay Area brain drain. Lack of Affordable Housing, Education Gaps Stunting Economic Growth, Report Says

Despite the Bay Area’s status as a nationwide hub for innovation, the region’s talent pool is diminishing, according to an economic report to be released today by a coalition of business and government officials.

Baby boomers are retiring, workers are getting squeezed out by the high cost of living and foreign professionals are moving back home, the Bay Area Economic Forum report found.

“These issues, coupled with K-12 education system challenges, put the creative workforce that is the foundation of the Bay Area’s prosperity at serious risk,” said Henry Gardner, executive director of the Association of Bay Area Governments, which is part of the Bay Area Economic Forum. The Forum releases a regional economic report every two years. This year’s was created by McKinsey and Co., a management consulting firm, which analyzed data from several sources.

In recent years, the region’s economy has rebounded to pre-Internet boom levels, but if leaders don’t act soon to improve schools and build affordable homes, it will be impossible to maintain that level of robustness, the report found.

By Jessie Seyfer
Mercury News

Full Story: http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/business/14176308.htm