Friday, September 27, 2013

Regional Employment Growth Report

Regional Employment Growth Report

...Conclusions

Considering the geographic patterns of employment growth in absolute terms shown in Table 1:
  • The strong employment growth in the last year has brought many areas of the state over or near the pre-recession employment levels. 25 counties exceed the 2007 employment; another 5 are within a year of reaching this level. 16 Senate Districts and 31 Assembly Districts exceed the 2007 employment levels; another 7 Senate Districts and 16 Assembly Districts are within a year of reaching this level. The state as a whole is now 0.1 year from reaching the 2007 employment level at last year's employment growth rate.
  • Many of the smaller counties show significant employment gaps from the 2007 peak. As regions, Central Sierra and Upstate California are still several years away at 19.1 and 4.1 years, respectively.
  • The key employment areas of Los Angeles, Inland Empire, and Sacramento Region continue to lag, largely counterbalancing the greater growth that has occurred in the coastal regions of the Bay Area, Central Coast, and San Diego/Imperial. The remaining employment gap in Los Angeles County alone balances out the stronger numbers experienced in the Bay Area and Central Coast combined.
  • In absolute terms, the Central Valley as a whole exceeds the 2007 peak levels, largely reflecting the significant employment growth in Kern County but also due to positive numbers in 4 of the other 7 counties.