After four years of job losses, tech sector sees uptick For the first time in four years, tech sector jobs in Silicon Valley edged upward, marking a welcome show of strength in the rough-and-tumble employment market.According to a report by Joint Venture Silicon Valley Network, a nonprofit community organization, the region added 2,000 jobs in 2005 over the previous year, an overall gain of 0.2 percent. As of June, unemployment had fallen to its lowest level since 2001.“I think it’s a turnaround but it’s subtle,” said Russell Hancock, president and CEO of the organization. “This doesn’t mean we’re going to start churning out jobs at a dizzying pace, but it’s an indication that we’re going to see steady, incremental growth.” Silicon Valley is now emerging as a haven for consumer product design and marketing, Hancock said.Most of the new jobs are high-end positions in the software cluster followed by gains in industrial design, engineering, and marketing research.“The Valley’s coming back with a very different profile,” said Doug Henton, president of Collaborative Economics. He cites a shift away from production and a significant increase in the number of small companies equipped to bring ideas to market. “We design it here and it’s produced elsewhere … in places like China or India. That’s what makes the Valley tick.” Technology IndustrySoftware Development