News

U.S. workers’ wages and benefits may be picking up faster than previously thought.

In his State of the City address in April, Mayor Eric Garcetti highlighted Turf Terminators, saying the hundreds of jobs that the company created were “some of the thousands of new, green jobs that have bloomed since I became mayor.”

The finance department opposes this year’s minimum wage bill because it would boost the state payroll by an estimated $1.2 billion once the wage reaches $13 in 2017. Finance officials also think the economic impact of a $13 minimum wage likely would be negative because it would slow the growth of employment.

Brown, who called special sessions of the Legislature last month to focus attention on the issues, wants at least $1.3 billion annually to help fund Medi-Cal and home-care services. The administration estimates the annual funding shortfall for road repairs is even higher, at about $5.7 billion.

A new study finds Sacramento area home prices have gotten out-of-reach for people who earn the median income or less. The data from research firm RealtyTrac show it’s cheaper to rent in Sacramento County than to buy.

A study released Wednesday by real-estate tracker Trulia says it would take 18 years for a San Diego household of college-educated young professionals earning the median income to afford a median-priced home in the county.

California has the highest state-level sales tax rate at 7.5 percent. Five states tie for the second-highest statewide rate at 7 percent: Indiana, Mississippi, New Jersey, Rhode Island, and Tennessee.

California refineries support 2.4 million jobs that depend on the petroleum-based products they produce but increasing regulatory demands are jeopardizing their ability to continue operations in the state, according to a report released this week.

California reported an increase in new claims of 2,930. The state attributed the change to layoffs in the service industry.

Productivity growth is central to a range of economic questions from the slowdown in middleclass incomes in recent decades to the outperformance of employment over output in the current recovery. Looking forward, productivity growth is essential to understanding how quickly wages can grow, how fast the economy can grow, and the magnitude—and potentially even the existence—of a long-term fiscal gap.

Revenue growth expectations fell from 5.4% last quarter to 3.1% this quarter, and earnings growth expectations fell from 10.6% to 6.5%. Both metrics now sit at their lowest levels in the five-year history of this survey (on a country basis, expectations for both Canada and the US are at their survey lows). . . Salaries/wages are expected to rise 2.9% over the next year, with Financial Services highest at 3.6% and all other industries 2% or above. Nearly two-thirds of CFOs cite rising pay for highly-skilled staff. Just under half expect gains at managerial-levels, and 44% expect gains for lower-skilled staff. The US is highest for all levels.

For the first time in more than a decade, overall crime is up in Los Angeles through the first six months of the year, rising by about 12%, according to a Times analysis..

A report released Wednesday from the Energy Information Administration details a “perfect storm” that shows the West Coast’s gasoline inventory fell by more than a million barrels last week while fuel imports into the region dropped to zero for the first time since March.

The state’s exports of goods to foreign markets in totaled $14.13 billion in the latest numbers, down 0.7% from the $14.23 billion recorded in May 2014. By way of comparison, total U.S. exports of goods saw a 7.2% decline in the same period, while exports from Texas shrank by a full 12.0%.

This week’s map shows the real value of $100 in each state. Prices for the same goods are often much cheaper in states like Missouri or Ohio than they are in states like New York or California. As a result, the same amount of cash can buy you comparatively more in a low-price state than in a high-price state.