Reports

The recent release of the 2014 American Community Survey data provides an opportunity to gauge how California commuters have responded to this shifting policy. The data clearly reflects that even with the well-documented and rapidly rising costs of the state’s traffic congestion and costs associated with the deteriorating condition of the state’s roads, California workers continue to rely on single occupant vehicles for the primary mode of commuting. Moreover, their reliance on this mode of travel continues to grow both in absolute and relative terms.

Highlights for policy makers: Unemployment Rate Up Slightly to 5.8%; Total Employment Little Changed at -9,800 Labor Force Participation Rate Unchanged Nonfarm Jobs Increase 60,400 Six Industries Below 2007 Pre-Recession Job Levels 12 Counties in Double-Digit Unemployment; 12 are 5% or Less Two-Tier Economy Persists Bay Area Continues to Dominate Employment Growth Number of Latino and Asian Employers Increased by About One-Third from 2002 Data revisions

Highlights for policy makers: Unemployment Rate Declines to 5.7%; Total Employment Rises 10,900 State Employment Growth Rankings Labor Force Participation Rate Declines to 62.0%–Another New Low Nonfarm Jobs Increase 5,500 Four Industries Remain Below 2007 Pre-Recession Job Levels Six Counties Remain in Double-Digit Unemployment; 12 are 5% or Less Two-Tier Economy Persists Bay Area Continues to Dominate Employment Growth

Highlights for policy makers: Unemployment Rate Declines to 5.8%; Total Employment Rises 15,400 State Employment Growth Rankings Labor Force Participation Rate Declines to 62.1%–Another New Low Nonfarm Jobs Increase 41,200 Six Industries Remain Below 2007 Pre-Recession Job Levels Three Counties in Double-Digit Unemployment; One-Quarter are 5% or Less Six California MSAs in Nation’s 10 Worst Unemployment Rates Two-Tier Economy Persists Bay Area Continues to Dominate Employment Growth Per Capita Personal Income Up 3.9% in 2014

Highlights for policy makers: Unemployment Rate Declines to 5.9%; Total Employment Rises 11,900 State Employment Growth Rankings Labor Force Participation Rate Declines to 62.2%–Lowest Point Since 1976 Nonfarm Jobs Increase 8,200 6 Industries Remain Below 2007 Pre-Recession Job Levels 1 County Remains in Double-Digit Unemployment; One-Third are 5% or Less 7 California MSAs in Nation’s 10 Worst Unemployment Rates Two-Tier Economy Persists Bay Area Continues to Dominate Employment Growth

Highlights for policy makers: Unemployment Rate Declines to 6.1%; Total Employment Rises 12,200 State Employment Growth Rankings Labor Force Participation Rate Declines to 62.3% Nonfarm Jobs Increase 36,300 6 Industries Remain Below 2007 Pre-Recession Job Levels 3 Counties Remain in Double-Digit Unemployment, 12 are 5% or Less 9 California MSAs in Nation’s 10 Worst Unemployment Rates Two-Tier Economy Persists

Summary Both California and the federal government have relied heavily on publicly and privately funded subsidies to incentivize development of alternative energies and related energy efficient products.  As the state is now considering potentially major expansions of these programs, it is appropriate to consider whether this approach as applied in the past has been broadly distributed, or instead has in practice favored specific income groups or regions.

Highlights for policy makers: Unemployment Rate Declines to 6.3%; Total Employment Climbs 35,000 State Employment Growth Rankings Labor Force Participation Rate Remains at 62.5% Nonfarm Jobs Increase 22,900 7 Industries Remain Below 2007 Pre-Recession Job Levels 6 Counties Remain in Double-Digit Unemployment, Down from 7 in May Two-Tier Economy Persists

Highlights for policy makers: Unemployment Rate Increases to 6.4%; Total Employment Climbs 59,100 State Employment Growth Rankings Labor Force Participation Rate Increases to 62.5% Nonfarm Jobs Increase 54,200 6 Industries Remain Below 2007 Pre-Recession Job Levels 7 Counties Remain in Double-Digit Unemployment, Down from 10 in April Two-Tier Economy Persists Two-Tier Economy by Demographic Group Two-Tier Economy by Demographic Group: Ethnicity/Race Two-Tier Economy by Demographic Group: Age

Highlights for policy makers: Unemployment Rate Declines to 6.3%; Total Employment Climbs 42,600 Labor Force Participation Rate Remains at 62.3%, Matching Previous Low in 1976 Nonfarm Jobs Increase 29,500 6 Industries Remain Below 2007 Pre-Recession Job Levels 10 Counties Remain in Double-Digit Unemployment, Down from 15 in March Two-Tier Economy Persists; Inland Empire Moves Up

The extent of the state’s two-tier economy is sharply illustrated by the patterns of economic growth over the past quarter century in two of its key jobs centers: Los Angeles County and the Bay Area.

Highlights for policy makers: Unemployment Rate Declines to 6.5%; Total Employment Climbs 45,300 Labor Force Participation Rate Drops to 62.3%, Matching Previous Low in 1976 Nonfarm Jobs Increase 39,800 7 Industries Remain Below 2007 Pre-Recession Job Levels 16 Counties Remain in Double-Digit Unemployment, Down from 20 in February Two-Tier Economy Persists

Highlights for policy makers: Unemployment Rate Declines to 6.7%; Total Employment Climbs 48.000 Nonfarm Jobs Increase 29,400 One in Five Remain Employed in Part Time Work Jobs Growth Adjusted for Population Near National Average 7 Industries Remain Below 2007 Pre-Recession Job Levels 20 Counties Remain in Double-Digit Unemployment, Up from a Revised 22 in January Wage Growth in Q3 2014 Two-Tier Economy Persists Data Revisions and Updates

Highlights for policy makers: EDD Data Revisions Unemployment Rate Declines to 6.9%; Total Employment Climbs 54,000 Nonfarm Jobs Increase 53,100 Effect of EDD’s Job Revisions 21 Counties Remain in Double-Digit Unemployment, Up from a Revised 17 in December Two-Tier Economy Persists Data Revisions and Updates

The policy interest in Green Jobs is not new to California. For at least 4 decades, the growing body of regulation in our state continues to be justified in part for its potential to spark technology innovations and entrepreneurship that in turn lead to creation of new industries to offset in whole or in part the cost of those rules on both consumers and businesses. The concept behind this focus is that through broader adoption of California rules, economies of scale eventually will be achieved and thereby lower overall costs for all. This policy concept runs through California’s current climate change and energy policies just as it did earlier in the 1970s when the state first attempted to regulate its way to a broader reliance on alternative energies.