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Middle-wage stagnation can damage consumer spending, dent career mobility, stall home buying and exacerbate a poverty rate that’s already the highest in the country, economists warn. Those concerns are amplified in a state notorious for a high cost of living. As more mid-tier jobs disappear, economists fear middle-class workers will be increasingly sucked into the ranks of the working poor. And they could crowd out those already working low-wage jobs, or drive their salaries down further.

Local business owners and statewide business organizations are stepping up opposition to a state bill that would allow workers to file liens against their employers over claims of unpaid wages.

As I travel throughout California, I’ve been surprised by just how many heads begin to nod when I mention to crowds the damage being done by a legal system that is truly out of control.  Abusive lawsuits exploiting legal loopholes have impacted far more people than I expected to meet around the state. – See more at: http://www.flashreport.org/blog/2014/08/07/new-reformers-needed-to-curb-the-lawsuit-abuse-killing-jobs-in-california/#sthash.7uuL2k7s.dpuf

States with high and low homeless rates are all over the country. The highest rates of homelessness among states are in Hawaii (465 per 100,000), followed by New York (399) and California (367).

California’s highways are in dreadful shape and need hundreds of billions of dollars in maintenance and reconstruction. Boosting motorists’ costs by more than $2 billion a year without the money being used for highway work would make financing vital repairs even less likely.

Given the heavy financial impact of placing fuel under the cap-and-trade program, it should face legislative scrutiny and direct up-or-down votes, rather than being imposed by an unelected board.

Four in 10 U.S. households are straining financially five years after the Great Recession — many struggling with tight credit, soaring education debt and profound issues related to savings and retirement, according to a new Federal Reserve survey.

Today, the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis released prototype estimates of personal consumption expenditures (PCE) for states for 1997-2012. These new estimates provide insight into household spending patterns across states that can be used together with other regional data to gain a better understanding of regional economies.

“California’s most inexpensive markets are on par with the most expensive metro areas in places like Texas, while California’s most expensive markets are quickly approaching median prices of $1 million,” wrote study co-author Jordan Levine. “That is well beyond the reach of the average Californian.”

That is pushing growing numbers of workers — especially middle-income workers — to leave California for places where they may be better able to buy a house, Levine says.

Sacramento is still getting a bad rap for business friendliness. An annual Thumbtack.com survey ranked Sacramento at the very bottom of 82 major metros for support from local government. Shocker: California didn’t fare well, either.

A new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll found that despite the steady pace of hiring in recent months, 76% of adults lack confidence that their children’s generation will have a better life than they do—an all-time high. Some 71% of adults think the country is on the wrong track, a leap of 8 points from a June survey, and 60% believe the U.S. is in a state of decline.

And yet, the latest census bureau report says that California is both the wealthiest state and has the highest poverty rate in the country at 24 percent — meaning almost a quarter of Californians live in poverty. In a big state like California that’s a lot of people — almost 9 million — or about the number of people living in New York City.

The authors show that the South San Joaquin Valley has largely recovered from the devastating damage of the Great Recession and is on track for greater economic and community success. Even though the region is the state’s and nation’s agricultural base, it is more economically diverse than widely believed, with a wide range of non-agricultural industries, and even a significant sector of green energy.

It’s a purgatory sometimes called the gray economy. Although the official state unemployment rate dropped to 7.4% in June, 16.2% of Californians — or about 6.2 million — were either jobless, too discouraged to seek work, working less than they’d like or in off-the-books jobs.

That’s the highest rate in the country, tied with Nevada. The rate is higher, at 17.8%, in Los Angeles County, where nearly 2 million people aren’t fully employed.

Personal income increased $56.7 billion, or 0.4 percent, and disposable personal income (DPI) increased $51.5 billion, or 0.4 percent, in June, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis.  Personal consumption expenditures (PCE) increased $51.7 billion, or 0.4 percent.  In May, personal income increased $57.4 billion, or 0.4 percent, DPI increased $55.0 billion, or 0.4 percent, and PCE increased $39.8 billion, or 0.3 percent, based on revised estimates.

Hiring by U.S. employers remained robust in July, if a bit slower than previous months, with a broad-based rise in payrolls extending a half-year streak of strong employment gains. . . The unemployment rate, obtained via a separate survey of households, ticked up to a seasonally adjusted 6.2% in July from 6.1% in June. The rise in part reflects an increase in the number of people looking for jobs, some of whom are now being counted as unemployed. The labor-force participation rate ticked up slightly in July, to 62.9% from 62.8% in June, though it remained near its lowest level since the late 1970s.