U.S. employers ramped up hiring last month and wages picked up after a winter lull, signs of an accelerating economy that nudge the Federal Reserve toward a September interest-rate increase.
The average annual pay for tech workers in Silicon Valley, including Santa Clara and San Mateo counties, is 66 percent higher than the next-closest region in the U.S. — Seattle — according to the UCLA Anderson Forecast report released Wednesday. The hiring boom has helped California reach 2.5 percent job growth.
Despite the bad news, consumer spending and home building are rising. Real disposable personal income is roaring ahead at growth rates of 6.2 percent in the first quarter of 2015 and 3.6 percent at the end of 2014. Even the personal savings rate is up (5.5 percent so far this year and 6.2 percent at the end of 2014). These consumer factors are attributed to an increase in government social benefits, though, and not to jobs and economic prosperity. Social Security makes payments to more than 64 million Americans and nearly 3 million more receive federal government retirement checks. More than 20 percent of the US population is basically living on fixed-incomes.
A group led by the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance announced Thursday it has sued the State Water Resources Control Board, state Department of Water Resources and U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, saying they’ve redirected water to human needs at the expense of Chinook salmon, Delta smelt and other endangered species.
The state’s exports of goods to foreign markets in April totaled $14.39 billion, up from the $14.09 billion recorded in April 2014. By way of comparison, total U.S. exports of goods saw a 4.2% decline in the same period, while exports from Texas shrank by a full 9.0%.
Four years ago North Carolina’s unemployment rate was above 10% and the state still bore the effects of its battering in the recession. Many rural towns faced jobless rates of more than 20%. But in 2013 a combination of the biggest tax-rate reductions in the state’s history and a gutsy but controversial unemployment-insurance reform supercharged the state’s economy and has even helped finance budget surpluses.
The bachelor’s degree is often promoted as a one-way ticket to a good career and high wages, but recent research shows that an associate degree for two years of study or a certificate of specialized training can also yield middle-class earnings. In fact, salary statistics indicate that workers with these short-term-education credentials can make as much as—or even out-earn—those with a traditional four-year degree.
But a Wall Street Journal analysis of Labor Department data points to persistent constraints on worker pay, even as the economy approaches full employment. The Journal found 33 U.S. metropolitan areas—from the small to the sizable—where unemployment rates and nonfarm payrolls last year returned to prerecession levels. In two-thirds of those cities—including Columbus; Houston; Oklahoma City; Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minn.; and Topeka, Kan.—wage growth trailed the prerecession pace.
If enacted, the legislation will trigger a fundamental shift in the kinds of cars and trucks Californians drive and the way they power their homes. New targets would force industries to create more renewable energy, make more vehicles that don’t burn gasoline and further slash greenhouse gas emissions.
The so-called split-roll proposal to change Proposition 13 would require the regular reassessment of commercial properties while keeping tax protections for residences in place. Fifty percent of likely California voters said they favor the split roll, while 44% said they opposed the idea, the poll found. In January 2012, 60% of voters supported such a change.
But last week, after the City Council gave tentative approval to a more far-reaching proposal that would gradually raise minimum hourly pay to $15 by 2020, the business group’s president conveyed dissatisfaction with the council plan to the mayor’s office.
California is paying interest on the loan, an estimated $174.5 million this year, according to a new report from the state Employment Development Department, and the balance is shrinking only because in lieu of direct payments, the Department of Labor has raised taxes on employers.
The UCLA Anderson Forecast released Wednesday says the jobless rate will likely hover around 6.2 percent through the remainder of this year, fall throughout 2016, and reach 5 percent by 2017.
A review of some of California’s largest school districts shows that fewer than half even mention the new science standards adopted by the state nearly two years ago in their Local Control and Accountability Plans, which they are required to draw up as a result of school reforms championed by Gov. Jerry Brown.
Economic activity in the [12th] District expanded at a moderate pace during the reporting period of early April to late May. Overall price inflation firmed somewhat, while wage gains picked up a bit but remained moderate on balance. Retail sales and demand for consumer services grew moderately. Manufacturing activity was mixed but appeared to have been flat overall. Agricultural output expanded. Real estate activity strengthened, predominantly in the multifamily sector. Lending activity expanded, largely spurred by growth in real estate financing.