U.S. output has expanded only slowly since the recession trough in 2009, counter to normal expectations of a rapid cyclical recovery. Removing cyclical effects reveals that the deep recession was superimposed on a sharply slowing trend in underlying growth. The slowing trend reflects two factors: slow growth of innovation and declining labor force participation. Both […]
Historically low unemployment is forcing headway on an issue that has been around since women entered the workforce: child care. Businesses increasingly see it as an issue vital to their operations and communities, and policy makers from New Hampshire to Michigan to Colorado have identified it as key to freeing up workers to fill stubborn […]
A group led by former Tesla Inc. executives brought a bundle of gutsy ideas from their new employer, Chinese tycoon Jia Yueting, who vowed to revive the 1-million-square-foot building and assemble a luxurious electric car that would surpass anything from Tesla’s Elon Musk. “The community was just thrilled to have an opportunity to have life […]
In 2007, more people in Fresno County had jobs than at any previous point in the county’s history. The central San Joaquin Valley’s economy was relatively healthy, and the county’s annual unemployment rate was 8.6 percent – higher than the state average but the third-lowest measurement of any year since 1990. But there were harbingers […]
A little-noticed section in the $1.5 trillion tax cut that President Trump signed into law late last month is drawing attention from venture capitalists, state government officials and mayors across America. The provision, on Page 130 of the tax overhaul, is an attempt to grapple with a yawning hole in the recovery from the Great […]
High school graduation rates have traditionally been a barometer of student success, as well as a measure of the quality of school systems. The members of California’s education establishment have been high-fiving each other over the state’s on-time high school graduation rate reaching 83.2 percent in 2016. But a peak behind the curtain reveals some […]
The rise of digital media is powering job growth in the entertainment industry throughout Los Angeles and Orange counties, according to a new report. The digital media industry accounted for 206,880 jobs in the two counties in 2016, a 12% increase since 2006, according to the report by a coalition of industry groups including the […]
The Long Beach Container Terminal, which opened in April 2016, is an exception. It requires two-thirds fewer workers than traditional terminals. And that frightens the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, which controls all the jobs at the docks. But viewed from another perspective, automation is part of the solution to one of Southern California’s most […]
More than 250,000 people work in solar, according to a report released Wednesday from the nonprofit Solar Foundation. That’s down from about 260,000 in 2016, when solar installations soared as companies raced to finish projects before the planned expiration of a federal tax credit. California kept its top spot as the country’s solar heavyweight with […]
The average price has now risen each day for the last three weeks, including 1.2 cents over the weekend, according to figures from the AAA and Oil Price Information Service. The price has increased 20.5 cents since it began rising 21 days ago. Monday’s average price is 7.2 cents more than a week ago, 26 […]
After experiencing consistent year-over-year growth, the number of jobs in the solar energy sector took a hit in 2017, with California absorbing the biggest blow. Solar employment dropped 14 percent in California last year, which was largely responsible for a 3.8 percent decline nationwide, according to the National Solar Jobs Census released earlier this week.
With tens of thousands of Californians turning to private and out-of-state schools for distance learning, Brown and Community Colleges Chancellor Eloy Ortiz Oakley say they want to provide an affordable, high-quality option for busy adults to gain skills that will help them in the labor market. They’re asking the Legislature to approve $100 million in […]
Center for a Competitive Workforce (CCW), of which LAEDC is a partner, has published a new report analyzing the Entertainment & Digital Media Industry in the Los Angeles Basin. The report is the first to define the rapidly growing “Digital Media” industry and its occupations in Los Angeles, and it analyzes the overlap with the […]
The latest Solar Jobs Census found that 250,271 Americans work in solar as of 2017. This is a 3.8% decline, or about 9,800 fewer jobs, since 2016, marking the first time that jobs have decreased since the first Solar Jobs Census was released in 2010. At the same time, the long-term trend continues to show […]
U.S. worker productivity grew below its long-run average for the seventh straight year in 2017.