A more buoyant economy and tightening labor market were supposed to draw in those now sitting on the margins. But the probability of a worker re-entering the labor force continues to slump. Over the past three months, an average of 6.8% of those outside the labor force either found a job or began looking for one. That means people are entering the labor force at the lowest pace in records kept since 1990, down from more than 8% in 2010.
Starting Thursday, gasoline and diesel producers will be subject to the state’s cap-and-trade system, forcing them either to supply lower-carbon fuels — which are more expensive to produce — or to buy pollution permits for the greenhouse gases created when the conventional fuel they supply is burned. In the short term, at least, that will mean higher prices at the pump, starting almost immediately.
Already, the specter of California’s regulations are believed to be contributing to record prices for eggs. The average wholesale cost of a dozen large eggs hit a peak of $2 on Thanksgiving Day — doubling in price from the start of November before settling this week to about $1.40. It comes at a time when soaring meat prices are expected to help push U.S. egg consumption to its highest level in seven years.
A state-mandated schedule for replenishing California’s cash-strapped teachers’ retirement fund means school districts will see their pension contributions triple by 2021 and remain high for decades, according to budget forecasts released this month by several local districts.
Administrators say they’re at a loss for how they’ll come up with the cash, which for some districts could be tens of millions per year. The forecasts come just six months after a legislative deal was struck by Sacramento lawmakers to recover billions of dollars for the California State Teachers’ Retirement System, or CalSTRS.
In June 2014, the Legislature directed the LAO to prepare a report analyzing the costs, benefits, and trade-offs of various options for a state earned income tax credit (EITC) that would supplement the federal credit. This report discusses considerations for adopting a state EITC and provides three options for the Legislature’s consideration.
The report also points out that the EU’s climate policies were enacted based on the assumption that the rest of the world would soon follow suit. That hasn’t happened, and despite some fleeting green optimism following the joint emissions agreements from the U.S. and China last month, the Global Climate Treaty is still dead in the water. The EU may be a first mover in this arena, but it’s suffering the costs, not reaping the benefits, of blazing this trail. By going it alone, the bloc is putting itself at a competitive disadvantage with regard to the rest of the world, as the cost of electricity continues to rise and turn the screws on households and businesses alike.
State personal income growth averaged 1.0 percent in the third quarter of 2014, down from 1.2 percent in the second quarter, according to estimates released today by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. Growth in personal income–the sum of net earnings by place of residence, property income, and personal current transfer receipts–slowed in 38 states and in the District of Columbia. The percent change across states ranged from -0.2 percent in South Dakota (the only state with a decline) to 1.4 percent in Texas. Inflation, as measured by the national price index for personal consumption expenditures, slowed to 0.3 percent in the third quarter from 0.6 percent in the second quarter.
Driving just got a lot cheaper in America. The timing is great not only for American consumers, but also for America’s infrastructure. The Highway Trust Fund simply can’t keep up current spending levels without more revenue. Significant declines in pump prices have presented an excellent opportunity to raise the federal gas tax, while keeping pump prices lower than initially anticipated.
California’s unemployment rate decreased to 7.2 percent in November, and nonfarm payroll jobs increased by 90,100 during the month for a total gain of 1,529,500 jobs since the recovery began in February 2010, according to data released today by the California Employment Development Department (EDD) from two separate surveys.
One of those occasions was last August, when both legislative houses, without a single dissenting vote, passed Senate Bill 850, which – on a limited, pilot basis – grants some community college districts the authority to offer four-year bachelor’s degree programs.
Some executives complained that the rush of companies and workers is pushing up living costs at least in big Texas cities. And finding skilled employees can be difficult. But executives and employees interviewed for this story generally said they haven’t looked back.
California added 90,100 payroll jobs in November as the state’s unemployment rate dipped slightly, to 7.2 percent.
Hertzberg’s tax increase — introduced as SB 8 immediately after he was sworn in Dec. 1 — actually is long-needed tax reform, the kind that causes most politicians to avert their eyes.
The measure finally would extend the state sales tax to services, the fastest growth sector of California’s economy.
Fed officials, concluding their last meeting of the year Wednesday, issued a statement that essentially left their easy-money policy in place, indicating that their key interest rate would stay near zero for at least a few more months.
Two major contributors to the decline in total revenues were employee retirement revenue, which includes earnings on investments and contributions, (dropping 67.7 percent, from $533.3 billion to $172.0 billion) and interest earnings (falling 44.6 percent, from $91.9 billion to $50.9 billion).