News

In January, as businesses struggled through a weak post-holiday period in a month that already tends to be slow, industry sales slid by their largest margin in 18 months.

An economic recovery that looked poised to lift off is reverting to its characteristic sluggishness as gauges of shopping activity, job creation, wage growth and factory output flash yellow.

About 16.8 million people moved into a different county within a year in the U.S., between 2007 and 2011, with the most common county-to-county moves being from Los Angeles to San Bernardino, Calif. (41,764 people) and Los Angeles to Orange, Calif. (an estimated 40,764), according to U. S. Census Bureau data released today.

The California State Transportation Agency has released the California Transportation Infrastructure Priorities (CTIP workgroup vision and interim recommendations document. Last year’s budget directed the new Transportation Agency to work with stakeholders to develop funding priorities and long-term funding options. The workgroup examined the current status of the state’s transportation system and discussed challenges that lie ahead. The interim recommendations offers both a vision for California’s transportation future and a set of immediate action items toward achieving that vision that are centered on the concepts of preservation, innovation, integration, reform and funding.

The second reason why the Index is troubling is because our prosperity is not widely shared. It is a story the Index has been telling for many years, but in this 2014 installment the gaps and disparities are more pronounced than ever. These are the hard facts: our income gains are limited to those with ultra high-end skills. Median wages for low- and middle-skilled workers are relatively stagnant and the share of households with mid-level incomes has fallen in Silicon Valley more than in the state and nation. Disparities by race are more persistent than ever. We also saw a sharp increase in homelessness.

After a frustratingly slow recovery from the severe recession of 2007 to 2009, the economy will grow at a solid pace in 2014 and for the next few years, CBO projects. Real GDP (output adjusted to remove the effects of inflation) is expected to increase by roughly 3 percent between the fourth quarter of 2013 and the fourth quarter of 2014—the largest rise in nearly a decade. Similar annual growth rates are projected through 2017. Nevertheless, CBO estimates that the economy will continue to have considerable unused labor and capital resources (or “slack”) for the next few years. Although the unemployment rate is expected to decline, CBO projects that it will remain above 6.0 percent until late 2016. Moreover, the rate of participation in the labor force—which has been pushed down by the unusually large number of people who have decided not to look for work because of a lack of job opportunities—is projected to move only slowly back toward what it would be without the cyclical weakness in the economy.

Overall, in another sign that California’s economy is shaking off the recession, state tax officials reported Tuesday that the statewide median income – for 2012 – was $70,938, up 4.1 percent over the previous year. That’s for those filing joint tax returns. For individual returns, the 2012 median income was $35,910, an increase of 3.5 percent, according to the state Franchise Tax Board.

The bills are part of a greater movement among states to stop contracting out in cases when the work is seen as better suited for public employees — an effort largely organized by the nation’s largest public services employees union, AFSCME.

The Home Depot Inc. says it’s preparing to hire 80,000 workers as it prepares for spring, the company’s busiest selling season . . . The do-it-yourself giant’s hiring website currently lists 16,928 open positions nationwide, including 232 openings for part-time workers in California, 178 in Texas, 100 in New York,

HGST, a unit of Western Digital, intends to construct two big, new buildings in south San Jose in an expansion of its campus that could create up to 1,700 jobs and help develop a transit and technology village for the area, according to documents filed with city planners.HGST, a unit of Western Digital, intends to construct two big, new buildings in south San Jose in an expansion of its campus that could create up to 1,700 jobs and help develop a transit and technology village for the area, according to documents filed with city planners.

Experts have estimated that electricity from giant solar projects will cost at least twice as much as electricity from conventional sources. But neither the utilities that have contracted to buy the power nor state regulators have disclosed what the price will be, only that it will be passed on to electricity customers.

With more than 47,000 workers currently employed in the solar industry, California has a strong lead over the No. 2 state, Arizona, which has 8,500 jobs tied to the industry.

Energy experts predict a 50-cent rise in prices over the next few weeks as supplies tighten — an annual event as refineries scale back production for maintenance, California converts to the more expensive summer blend of gasoline, more drivers hit the road and oil-exporting countries boost crude prices to around $100 a barrel.

Companies in Texas making semiconductors, telecommunications devices, computers, and other items shipped more than $45 billion in products to other countries in 2012, according to a report by the TechAmerica Foundation, a lobbying and advocacy firm representing the technology industries. That’s a $3 billion rise from 2011.

As the U.S. economy gains strength and states are in their best financial position in years, governors are proposing unconventional tactics to create jobs, especially in health care and high-tech.