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State personal income growth accelerated to 1.5 percent in the second quarter of 2014 from 1.2 percent in the first quarter. Personal income growth ranged from 2.7 percent in North Dakota and Nebraska to 1.1 percent in New York and Alaska, with growth accelerating in 36 states. . . For the second consecutive quarter, the earnings increase in Texas was larger than the increase in every other state. Earnings in Texas, which accounted for 8.9 percent of the nation, grew $19.2 billion in the second quarter. Earnings in California, which accounted for 13.2 percent of the nation, grew $16.9 billion.

Real gross domestic product — the output of goods and services produced by labor and property located in the United States — increased at an annual rate of 4.6 percent in the second quarter of 2014,  according to the “third” estimate released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis.  In the first quarter, real GDP decreased 2.1 percent.

Real gross domestic product — the output of goods and services produced by labor and property located in the United States — increased at an annual rate of 4.6 percent in the second quarter of 2014,  according to the “third” estimate released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis.  In the first quarter, real GDP decreased 2.1 percent.

Gross domestic product, the broadest measure of goods and services produced in the U.S., expanded at an annual rate of 4.6% in the second quarter, the Commerce Department said Friday in its third estimate of the gauge. The agency previously pegged April-through-June growth at 4.2%.

Real GDP increased in 292 of the nation’s 381 metropolitan areas in 2013, led by widespread growth in finance, insurance, real estate, rental, and leasing, nondurable-goods manufacturing, and professional and business services, according to new statistics released today by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. Natural resources and mining also spurred strong growth in several metropolitan areas. Collectively, real GDP for U.S. metropolitan areas increased 1.7 percent in 2013 after increasing 2.6 percent in 2012.

The number of people making new jobless claims across the country dropped slightly by 1,000 to 298,000 from the previous week’s revised number, according to a weekly report from the U.S. Department of Labor. California scored the largest drop in new claims.

Gross domestic product, the broadest measure of goods and services produced across the economy, grew at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.2% in the second quarter after accounting for inflation, the Commerce Department said.

California’s per-job costs are higher than every other Western state, and most other large states. The high cost of creating additional jobs puts California at a substantial competitive disadvantage when attempting to retain or attract businesses that have a choice where to locate.

A new study by the University of California, Los Angeles concludes that LA has the least affordable rental homes in America, and other reports rate California as the worst state both for renters and mortgage-payers (see map). The UCLA study reports that tenants in LA spend on average 47% of their gross income on rent—a higher share than in any other city. (Academics typically deem rent “unaffordable” if it eats up more than 30% of a household’s income).

When it comes to buying a home or renting an apartment, the Los Angeles-Orange County area is the most expensive market among the nation’s 100 biggest metropolises, according to a report released Thursday by the real-estate website Zillow.

California is one of the most expensive states for businesses to operate, mainly because of high pay and related labor costs, says a new report commissioned by an arm of the state Chamber of Commerce..

After a puzzling first-quarter contraction, growth has returned, though the recovery remains the weakest since the second world war. As of June, the expansion is now five years old, longer than the post-war average of 58 months . . .

The association said California car and light truck sales improved 7.3 percent in the first six months of 2014. That compared with a 5.4 percent increase nationwide.

Southern California home sales plunged in July and show little signs of rebounding. And that, economists say, could stunt the region’s economic growth..

California businesses on average have 19 percent higher operating costs per job than businesses in the rest of the country, according to a study released by the California Foundation for Commerce and Education. Business operating costs in California are on average 16% higher than for firms in large industrial states, and are 10% higher than the average of Western states.