A healthy job market leads to a thriving economy, as long as that market can strike a balance between opportunity, stability and the well-being of its workforce. The technology industry has been acknowledged for its contributions to the city’s current economic prosperity, and many of the city’s prominent companies, tech or otherwise, have invested time and money to give back to local businesses and community programs. These efforts have brought attention to the incredible influence that San Francisco’s leading entrepreneurs have on the future economic trajectory of the city, and in some cases the global economy.

The question becomes, who will have access to the positive opportunities of the future economy? Despite record-breaking job growth in some high-skill, high-income sectors, the income gap among San Franciscans continues to grow. The first step toward closing this gap is to acknowledge the potential for all residents continually to build the skills to contribute to a modernizing society. Together, we can find and fund opportunities for economic mobility and temper socioeconomic disparities among residents, bringing greater prosperity to all.

SPUR’S BENEFITS OF ECONOMIC MOBILITY:
IMPROVED QUALITY OF LIFE FOR A BROADER SEGMENT OF THE POPULATION. EXPANDED OPPORTUNITIES FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS. NEW JOBS FOR THOSE ENTERING THE LABOR MARKET AS MORE EXPERIENCED WORKERS MOVE UP OR RETIRE. EXPANDED SKILLS FOR THE WORKFORCE, WHICH BOOSTS REGIONAL PRODUCTIVITY.

To balance our record-breaking growth, we need new approaches to ensure that all San Franciscans are skilled and confident to obtain a job, contribute positively to the city, and plan for significant life events—from childcare to retirement, and everything in between. The path to economic prosperity begins with a stable and vibrant middle class:

1. Mobility: train and upskill workers and provide educational tools and financing strategies, creating avenues to increased wages and higher quality of life
2. Local entrepreneurship and marketplaces: provide business mentoring and community partnerships to invest in small businesses and support a growing modern economy

Our Approach

San Francisco stands out as a uniquely liveable and tight-knit cityscape, home to the next wave of innovations not only in technology but across sectors. To secure opportunities for the next generation to grow a healthy economy, we need to develop the skills and financial resiliency of workers and support local businesses that make the city vibrant.

DOING THE WORKAsset building. Financing. Education.
As our city grows, fewer and fewer San Franciscans have access to all that the city has to offer. Residents who work in San Francisco but still cannot make ends meet, families overlooked by traditional financing institutions, and others who are disqualified from getting loans need a different solution. Too often, they are forced to go to payday lenders and other high-cost fringe financial services that trap them in a cycle of debt and prevent them from contributing to a healthy economy.

Small businesses and other projects that serve low income neighborhoods need multiple sources of capital to contribute to the local economy, and even just to get off the ground. Local organizations, public agencies and private investors must work together to ensure a brighter future for communities across San Francisco.

Organizations work to create more equitable economic opportunities for local residents and small business employees, ensuring that entry level workers can learn and grow along with the companies they work for. They act to bridge the gap between capital markets and projects that have high social value but do not have access to traditional financial institutions.

This work includes: social enterprises that offer transitional employment and entry-level placements; new programs that integrate financial education, products and advocacy for low-income, low-skilled workers; lending circles and other strategies to unite low-income communities and allow residents to borrow, build credit and work toward a financially secure future; small business consulting services and workshops to ensure that new companies build the capacity to attract employees, customers and expand their business.

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