“There’s no well-defined tech sector,” said Jerry Nickelsburg, an economics professor at UCLA. “There’s clearly a large and vibrant technology sector that runs across many traditional sectors in Los Angeles — that is clear. What that translates to in terms of employment and income — that’s a little less clear.”
The incidence of involuntary part-time work surged during the Great Recession and has stayed unusually high during the recovery. This may reflect more labor market slack than is captured by the unemployment rate alone. Analysis across states and over time indicates that a substantial part of the increase is related to the business cycle. However, structural factors such as changes in industry composition, population demographics, and labor costs have also contributed. This suggests that involuntary part-time work may remain significantly above its pre-recession level as the labor market continues to recover.
Broadly speaking, the high level of part-time workers now found in the economy make improvements in the jobless rate look better than it actually is. The unemployment rate, one of the most important indicators of the nation’s economic health, has undergone a rapid decline in recent years. After peaking at nearly 10% in the spring of 2010, it now stands at 5.5%.
The survey showed 70% of CEOs expect sales to increase in the next six months, down from 80% in the first-quarter survey and the lowest level since 2012. Only 35% plan to increase capital spending, down from 45%, and 34% plan to boost hiring, down from 40%.
After years of subpar growth, California is reaping the advantages of a fortuitous economic alignment of ultralow interest rates, high stock values and growing investments in high-end residential real estate. Vast sums are pouring into the state for new tech ventures, speculative hotel and residential developments. Low borrowing rates allow the state to keep pace with its massive debts, while buoyant stocks help the massive government pension plans, which invest in the market.
The California Commission on Teacher Credentialing issued 11,497 new credentials in 2013-14, down 30 percent from four years earlier, and enrollments in collegiate teacher-preparation programs have declined by 75 percent in the last decade.
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.
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.
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.
Getting a more qualified workforce is a big issue, and you can’t have too many regulatory hurdles to get approvals to build plants. People in the U.S. have no idea how fast people do things in Asia. They work 24/7. I was just in Shanghai, and I was watching them build an elevated freeway. The construction workers lived on the site. We don’t have that level of urgency in the U.S.
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.
The number was just about in line with expectations for a 200,000 gain thanks largely to a big gain in service sector jobs. (Tweet this) The group added 192,000 positions, a big gain from the 164,000 the previous month.