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Occupations and Unemployment As shown on Table 6, occupation patterns of employed Pleasanton residents reflect the high educational attainment and household incomes. In 2000, the City's working residents were strongly concentrated in Management, Professional, and Related occupations; 52 percent of employed residents were occupied in these fields, on par with the Tri-Valley (51 percent) and slightly higher than Bay Area workers as a whole (44 percent). Nine percent of Pleasanton and Tri-Valley employed residents worked in service occupations. as compared to 13 percent for the Bay Area. Unemployment among working Pleasanton residents has been relatively low since 2000. As shown in Table 7, although unemployment averaged an extremely low 1.7 percent for 2000, and rose slightly to 2.8 percent during 2004. it has recently declined again to 2.2 percent for May 2005. These rates compare very favorably to the Bay Area, which registered an average unemployment rate of 3.3 percent for 2004, rose to 5.7 percent for 2004, and have fallen somewhat to 4.5 percent for May 2005. It should be noted, however. that despite population and household growth in Pleasanton, its labor force participation has been declining. For example, between 2000 and 2004, Pleasanton's labor force has dropped from 36,600 to 35.300, a decrease of 3.4 percent. This trend would be expected if unemployment were substantial, influencing those seeking work or in a job. However. according to the unemployment data, Pleasanton's residents were not unduly impacted by the general economic downturn of the early part of the decade. Thus. the decline in labor force may instead be attributable to overall aging or retirement (early or otherwise) of the adult population. Pleasanton Economic Development Background Report RNAL - January 2006 11