The Tectonic Plates Shifting Under the California Job Market in 2014
The tectonic plates continue to shift under the California job market in 2014. Full time employment with benefits is replaced by contingent and part time employment, the labor force participation rate continues to fall, the competition for each position increases, the job tenure rate declines. The latest to weigh in on a number of these […]
Best Workforce Strategies for Californians with Greatest Barriers?
What are the best workforce strategies today for Californians with greatest employment barriers–ex-offenders, ex-addicts, workers with physical or neurological disabilities or mental illnesses? Beyond the current minimum wage debates, what of workers who can’t even get minimum wage jobs? Ms. Carla Javits, the President & CEO of REDF, has thought about these questions since she […]
Why the Labor Force Participation Rate Continues to Drop in California
Last Friday’s state job numbers showed the California unemployment rate decreasing to 8.3%, from 8.5% in November. This follows a steady drop in unemployment since 2010, when unemployment was at 12.5%. Job growth explains part of this drop in unemployment—California has gained 922,500 payroll jobs since February 2010. But the drop is also explained by […]
Wage Inequality in California: Why the Conventional Wisdom is Wrong
(This brief essay on wage inequality in our state first appeared last Friday at Zocalo Public Square.) The wage gap between rich and poor Californians is rising to the top of the political agenda in 2014. In December, the state legislature formed a caucus to end poverty and inequality in California that will be chaired […]
The Job Gold Rush in San Francisco: Can It Be Replicated Elsewhere?
Comstock’s magazine in Sacramento reports this week on the Sacramento-based construction businesses that are flocking to projects in the Bay Area, especially San Francisco. This report continues a long line of articles over the past few months on San Francisco’s white-hot economy and job market. The local unemployment rate is down to 5.2%, building cranes […]
New Normal of California Employment in 2014; Presents from Mr. Peguese
The New Normal of California Employment in 2014 will see a continuation of the steady payroll job growth we’ve seen since early 2010, as well as a continuation of the trend of part-time and contingent employment and independent contracting, replacing full time employment with benefits. Wage inequality will have a heightened profile in California, though […]
Does Emerge Digital Offer a New Hiring Model for California?
The Emerge Digital Group (“EDG”) is one of the fastest growing advertising and marketing firms in the United States—in August it was ranked by Inc. Magazine as the #2 fastest growing private company nationwide in the advertising and marketing industry. While its growth holds lessons about digital marketing, of particular relevance to California’s workforce community […]
California’s Dystopian Job Future?
This Friday, the Employment Development Department will be releasing the employment numbers for September and October. Most likely, they will follow the pattern we’ve seen for the past nearly three years of steady job gains and slowly reducing unemployment. Since February 2010, the state has gained over 826,000 payroll jobs, an average of roughly 27,000 […]
Tabatha’s Salon and Training for the Practical Economy in California
Though it rarely is mentioned in workforce discussions, an extensive system of private post secondary schools exists in California. This system enrolls roughly 400,000-500,000 Californians each year, in training for allied health care workers, information technology workers, and workers in beauty salons, car repair shops, and restaurants to name a few venues. It deserves greater […]
Pivot, Adapt, Retrain in California
Last week, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti announced a review of the workforce system in Los Angeles. The review is to be undertaken under former Councilmember Jan Perry current head of the new Economic Workforce Development Department. It is aimed at improving the processes of job training and especially of retraining. Any workforce review in […]