News

A growing education gap in California could diminish workers’ chances of finding jobs in the coming years, according to a study.

California’s labor market picked up last month, according to figures released Friday, as the state’s unemployment rate fell to 9.6% and employers added 41,200 jobs. Gains were mostly notched in the leisure and hospitality and government sectors, according to the data by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. January’s unemployment rate was 9.8%.

For the second month in a row California has earned the right to be called the state with nation’s highest unemployment rate. Mississippi and Nevada both tied California for the honor at 9.6 percent. Last month, California and Rhode Island shared the nation’s highest unemployment rate at 9.8 percent, but Rhode Island dropped its rate an impressive .4 points, all the way down to 9.4 percent.

Proposed legislation to raise the state minimum wage could eliminate tens of thousands of jobs and harm the California economy, a small-business advocacy group said.

Coincidentally, three otherwise unrelated events last week framed California’s somewhat clouded economic situation. One was a revelation that the state now is tied with Rhode Island for the nation’s highest unemployment rate, 9.8 percent.

As one of just a few states that impose a sales tax on manufacturing and R&D equipment, California imposes higher equipment costs on its manufacturers, which may drive them out of state, Annette Nellen, a professor at San Jose State University, writes in this week’s issue of the Weekly State Tax Report.

As California’s unemployment rate remains stuck at 9.8% in January, some counties in the Golden State reported jobless rates edging up slightly.

Once every four years, America’s civil engineers rate the nation’s major infrastructure and issue a Report Card for America’s Infrastructure (Report Card). We got our copy from Stephen Urbanek, pavement preservation manager for Sonoma County’s Department of Transportation and Public Works.

SACRAMENTO — The still-stagnant economy is weighing so heavily on Californians’ minds that it’s crowding out other top issues such as immigration, gun control and climate change — and is stifling support for major statewide initiatives such as high-speed rail and a Central Valley water project.

Judging by a new statewide poll, California lawmakers were smart to pull an $11.1-billion water bond off last fall’s ballot.

SACRAMENTO — We used to call it “shop.” Wood shop. Auto shop. Then the educators got fancy and renamed it “vocational education.”

As part of a push to measure how well a school is educating its students based on more than just test scores, California for the first time is planning to factor graduation rates into the state’s main measure of a school’s academic achievement.

On Monday in the State Capitol, I was joined by business leaders from across California to discuss legislation that will ease the backlog of business filings at the Secretary of State’s office, as well as other legislation to strengthen the Golden State’s economic recovery.

For over 40 years CEQA has protected our environment, spurred informed planning, and assured public input and involvement in community growth decisions. These aspects of CEQA – the ones that have helped preserve California’s natural resources and make it a better, healthier place to raise our families – must be preserved. Abuses of the law – primarily to stall projects, increase expenses for a competitor or negotiate a better labor agreement – however, have resulted in calls for reform from the Governor, the Legislature and businesses throughout California.

Two months ago, Gov. Jerry Brown, in plugging CEQA reform, told legislators, “Our approach needs to be based more on consistent standards that provide greater certainty and cut needless delays.”