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Each year, growth in the Inland Empire labor market edges up, as the region continues its slow, steady march out of the Great Recession. As of August 2013, total nonfarm employment in the Inland Empire stood at 1.2 million, which is 9% below the region’s peak employment level set in July of 2007. Since August 2012, the region has added back 6,900 nonfarm payroll jobs on a seasonally adjusted basis, a 0.6% year-over-year increase. This is a lower rate of growth than in the state overall (1.5%), but it is important to remember that the Inland Empire was one of the hardest hit regions in California after the housing bubble burst.

The San Francisco Metropolitan Division (MD) continued its leading role in California’s employment recovery in the third quarter of 2013. In August, the region added over 21,000 jobs on a year-over-year basis. That 2.1% increase represented the fourth fastest growth rate in California behind San Jose, the Central Coast, and Orange County. The San Francisco MD is one of a handful of regions in the state to have exceeded their pre-recession peak employment levels.

San Diego County continues to be a key driver of employment growth in Southern California’s economy. Behind Orange County, it has been Southern California’s second fastest recovering job market. Since nonfarm employment hit bottom in February 2010, San Diego County has added back more than 66,000 jobs, a 5.5% increase. This is stronger than the growth experienced in Los Angeles (5.1%), the Inland Empire (3.7%), or the rest of Southern California (4.8%). In addition, San Diego’s unemployment rate dipped from nearly 11% in 2010 to 7.2% in August 2013. This is well below the statewide average of 8.9%, and is again only second to Orange County in Southern California.

California’s nonfarm payroll jobs increased by 39,800 in October for a total gain of 868,300 jobs since the recovery began in February 2010, according to data released today by the California Employment Development Department (EDD). California’s unemployment rate was 8.7 percent in September and October, down from 8.9 percent in August.

California’s unemployment rate has dropped to 8.7 percent over the past two months, while Sacramento unemployment has declined to levels not seen in five years, according to figures released today.

The Dow Jones industrial average has closed above 16,000 for the first time, marking yet another milestone for a stock rally that has surprised even some of the most bullish on Wall Street.

Los Angeles County’s homeless population rose 15% from 2011 to 2013, to  57,737, a total second only to New York City. By contrast, the number of homeless Americans declined 6% since 2010, to 610,042, according to the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Personal income growth slowed in 2012 in most of the nation’s 381 metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs), according to estimates released today by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. Personal income growth slowed in 311 MSAs, accelerated in 65 MSAs, and remained unchanged in 5 MSAs. On average, MSA personal income rose 4.2 percent in 2012, after growing 6.0 percent in 2011. Personal income growth ranged from 12.1 percent in Midland, Texas to -1.6 percent in Yuma, Arizona, one of only five MSAs where personal income declined in 2012. Inflation, as measured by the national price index for personal consumption expenditures, slowed to 1.8 percent in 2012 from 2.4 percent in 2011.

By the U-6 measure, California’s employment distress rate is 18.3 percent for the 12 months ending June 30, according to a new report by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. California’s rate is second only to Nevada’s 19 percent and four percentage points higher than the national rate of 14.3 percent.

At its annual awards gala on Thursday, the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp. named Lancaster as the most business-friendly city with a population over 50,000, while La Mirada was chosen the most business-friendly among cities with fewer than 50,000 people.

Today’s policies to combat climate change cost much more than the benefits they produce. Unfortunately, bad political choices often make these policies even less cost-effective.

The SPM extends the official poverty measure by taking account of many of the government programs designed to assist low-income families and individuals that are not included in the current official poverty measure.

The Latino population in California is large, growing rapidly, and on its way to attaining majority status inless than 40 years. However, Latino college-degree attainment is low, despite a significant increase in collegegoing rates.

A California Greenhouse Gas Inventory Spreadsheet (GHGIS) model was developed to explore the impact of combinations of state policies on state greenhouse gas (GHG) and regional criteria pollutant emissions. . . Results indicate that all three scenarios are able to meet the 2020 statewide GHG targets, and by 2030, statewide GHG emissions range from between 208 and 396 MtCO2/yr. However, none of the scenarios are able to meet the 2050 GHG target of 85 MtCO2/yr, with emissions ranging from 188 to 444 MtCO2/yr, so additional policies will need to be developed for California to meet this stringent future target.

Gov. Jerry Brown, whose pronouncements of California’s economic recovery have been criticized by Republicans who point out the state’s high poverty rate, said in a radio interview Wednesday that poverty and the large number of people looking for work are “really the flip side of California’s incredible attractiveness and prosperity.”