04/29/2024

News

“Hidden” Economy in Silicon Valley Built Without Advanced Degrees

A new report, “The Hidden STEM Economy,” reveals that a university degree is not required for 27.5 percent of all jobs in the San Jose area in the fields of science, technology, engineering and math. The number is even higher — 36 percent — in San Francisco and the East Bay.

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San Onofre Nuclear Plant Closure Will Mean Hundreds of Layoffs

Southern California Edison says its closure of the troubled San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station will force the company to lay off 900 workers in the next few months.

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California Tops List of States with Infrastructure Needs

California could use $44.5 billion to fix aging water systems over the next two decades, according to a federal survey that placed the state at the top of a national list of water infrastructure needs.

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Southland home prices soar 24.7% in May from a year earlier

Southern California’s housing recovery surged last month as buyers scrambled for a short supply of homes.

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In Nation’s Breadbasket, Latinos Stuck in Poverty

California’s San Joaquin Valley is one of the richest agricultural regions in the world, with Fresno County farmers receiving a record $6.8 billion in revenues last year. But the region also consistently ranks among the nation’s most impoverished.

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California enterprise zones face uncertain future

California’s enterprise zones have been a part of state government since the mid-1980s, but there is disagreement as to whether they have successfully attracted and retained businesses or merely shifted commercial activities from communities without zones to others where the program is in effect.

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A Revolution in the Making

Digital technology is transforming manufacturing, making it leaner and smarter, and raising the prospect of an American industrial renaissance.

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Help Wanted. A Lot of It.

Despite high unemployment, manufacturers find themselves short of skilled candidates for many jobs, such as operating or programming computer-controlled cutting tools or repairing sophisticated machinery. Manufacturers also fret that the U.S. isn’t producing enough engineers to design products and factory processes—and drive innovation.

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Rising Health Care Costs Grow as Top Concern for Manufacturers

WASHINGTON, D.C., 06/10/13 – According to the second quarter National Association of Manufacturers (NAM)/IndustryWeek Survey of Manufacturers released today, manufacturers’ concerns over health care and insurance costs are mounting. In addition, the unfavorable business climate due to taxes and regulation and uncertainties related to the political climate continue to be top concerns for manufacturers. More than half of survey respondents stated they were either not prepared or uncertain about how their firm planned to implement provisions of the Affordable Care Act at the beginning of 2014.

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Late-payment rate on mortgages tumbles in 1Q

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A resurgent housing market, rising home values and steady job gains are helping more U.S. homeowners stay on top of their mortgage payments.

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Waiter and waitress nation: The May payrolls report shows the US creating jobs, just not many good ones

The headline numbers for the May jobs report are about what you would expect for a New Normal economy stuck in 2% growth mode: 175,000 net new jobs last month, the unemployment rate ticking up to 7.6%. No broad signs of acceleration; just the opposite, in fact. As Barclays bank points out, the three-month average increase in nonfarm payrolls through May is now 155,000 vs. a first-quarter average of 207,000. (And at May’s pace of job creation, it would take another 58 months to get back to 5% unemployment.)

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Albertsons to Cut as Many as 2,500 SoCal Jobs

Company: AlbertsonsCA Net Job Gain/Loss: -2500Reason: LayoffCity/Region Losing Jobs: Southern California areaNotes: Job losses from 247 store locations throughout Southern California

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Drugmaker Impax Kills 110 Jobs, Mostly in Hayward

Company: Impax LaboratoriesCA Net Job Gain/Loss: -110Reason: LayoffCity/Region Losing Jobs: Hayward, CA

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All Businesses Could Get State Tax Perks

Businesses across California could have access to state tax credits similar to those previously limited to economically challenged areas, under a plan by Gov. Jerry Brown. The governor unveiled the proposal in May as part of his 2014 budget revise.

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Silicon Valley’s Race and Gender Inequality is Worse Than You Think

On Thursday, Mother Jones collected three jarring snapshots of Silicon Valley’s much-discussed (but largely under-studied) disparities between individuals of different genders and races.

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