The Milken Institute’s California Center reports that one bright spot in a dismal business climate is the energy sector both with research and production of alternative and renewable energy along with production and refinement of oil and natural gas. To understand the effect the energy business has on the California economy, the Institute reported on the Chevron Corporation, California’s largest Fortune 500 company.
Chevron is the largest firm in the state as measured by revenue and is the only major energy producer headquartered in California.
Chevron’s impact on the economy is revealed in some numbers highlighted by the Milken report.
- In 2007, Chevron directly employed 10,000 workers in California. These workers contributed earnings of $1.2 billion and an output of $4.5 billion to the state’s economy.
- Chevron’s direct and indirect impact in California totals 68,700 jobs, $3.9 billion in workers’ earnings and $9.2 billion in output in 2007.
- In 2007, Chevron spent approximately $750 million to help develop minority-and- women-owned businesses in the state.
If the oil severance tax that is often discussed is ever adopted, those numbers are sure to drop.
The report titled, Energizing California, Mapping Chevron’s Economic Impact on the Golden State, can be found here.