News

An analysis of annual changes of four economic performance indicators— economic output (GDP), employment, unemployment rates and home prices—between 2012 and 2013 across the 3,069 county economies . . .

Economic activity in the Twelfth District expanded at a moderate pace during the reporting period of late November through late December. Price inflation was subdued for most final goods and services, and upward wage pressures were modest overall. On balance, holiday retail sales increased relative to the year earlier. Demand for business and consumer services edged up. District manufacturing activity advanced. Output in agricultural and resource-related industries expanded. Demand for residential real estate climbed further, and commercial real estate activity improved. Reports from financial institutions indicated that loan demand increased.

The economic forecasts were prepared in November 2013 by the California Department of Finance for the Governor’s Proposed Budget.

Tables: http://www.dof.ca.gov/HTML/FS_DATA/LatestEconData/FS_Forecasts.htm

The state’s fiscal history is riddled with budgets that made permanent obligations— both spending increases and tax cuts — based on temporary revenue increases. After these spikes in revenues disappeared — as they always do— the state was forced to cut programs and raise taxes. This Budget seeks to avoid this unproductive boom‑and‑bust cycle. Instead of using one‑time revenues to spend on permanent programs, it instead uses that money to make the state’s first deposit into its Rainy Day Fund since 2007, repay money owed to our schools, pay off the Economic Recovery Bonds sold to balance the budget in 2004, and make one‑time investments to shore up the state’s aging infrastructure. This Budget also proposes a constitutional amendment to strengthen California’s Rainy Day Fund so we can pay off our longer term liabilities and be prepared for any future decreases in revenue.

Los Angeles is barely treading water while the rest of the world is moving forward. We risk falling further behind in adapting to the realities of the 21st century and becoming a City in decline.

January 8, 2014 marks the 50th anniversary of President Lyndon B. Johnson’s declaration of an unconditional War on Poverty, made during his 1964 State of the Union address. Although poverty remains a reality for millions of Californians, the last half-century has shown the key role that public policies can play in reducing poverty and fostering economic security. With state policymakers set to begin crafting a new state budget, this Budget Brief looks at poverty in the Golden State and discusses some ways that policymakers can help reduce economic hardship and expand pathways to opportunity and advancement.

This summary report on the 2013 Summit lays out the background behind the Summit and gives a roundup of Summit commitments, a collection of some of the best thinking from across the state about how to drive sustainable economic growth in California.

SBE Council has published the state Index for 18 years, which ranks the 50 states according to 47 different policy measures, including a wide array of tax, regulatory and government spending measurements. – See more at: http://www.sbecouncil.org/2013/12/12/sbe-council-ranks-the-50-states-in-small-business-policy-index-2013/#sthash.aygbaj8z.dpuf

Real GDP rose 3.6 percent after rising 2.5 percent in the second quarter. Business investment and state and local government spending picked up, and imports slowed. Consumer spending slowed.

State personal income growth slowed slightly to 1.1 percent in the third quarter of 2013, from 1.2 percent in the second quarter, according to estimates released today by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. Growth slowed in 25 states, accelerated in 22, and was unchanged in 3 states and the District of Columbia. Growth across states ranged from 0.4 percent in New Mexico to 1.9 percent in Mississippi. The national price index for personal consumption expenditures increased 0.5 percent in the third quarter after remaining unchanged in the second quarter.

This report provides an overview of the demographic, social, and economic characteristics of California’s population. Topics include income, poverty, education, health insurance coverage, language, place of birth, migration, and more. The tabulations in this report are based on special data runs from the American Community Survey (ACS) Public Use Microdata Sample 1-year file.  This ACS report will be produced annually to facilitate the examination of changes in the state over time.  

California grew by 332,000 people between July 1, 2012 and July 1, 2013 to total more than 38.2 million, according to official population estimates released today by the Department of Finance. The growth rate of 0.9 percent and the 332,000 numeric gain are the highest for California since the pre-recession year of 2003-04.

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 4.1 percent in the third quarter of 2013 (that is, from the second quarter to the third quarter), according to the “third” estimate released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. In the second quarter, real GDP increased 2.5 percent.

California’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 8.5 percent in November, down 0.2 percentage point in October, and down 1.4 percentage points from 1 year ago. In comparison, the U.S. unemployment rate was 7.0 percent in November, down 0.3 percentage point from October, and down 0.8 percentage point from 1 year ago.

In California there were 14,748,200 jobs in total non-farm industries in November, a gain of 44,300 jobs from last month. This followed a revised 30,100-job gain in October and a 2,900-job loss in September.

Within non-farm industries, 7 sectors saw month-over job gains; 4 sectors saw a month-over job decline.

In addition to these characteristics, more than 40 social, economic and housing topics are now available through the American Community Survey statistics for all communities in the nation, regardless of size, down to the block group level. For example, health insurance coverage statistics are now available for the first time at the neighborhood level.