California adds just 5,500 jobs in November; unemployment rate declines to 5.7%

California employers added just 5,500 jobs in November, according to federal data — a significant slowdown from more robust monthly gains earlier in the year.

But the state unemployment rate continued its five-year-long decline, dropping to 5.7% in November, the lowest in eight years. The U.S. unemployment rate is 5%.

November's tepid job increases were the lowest one-month jump in more than four years, and far less than the 40,600 job gains the state posted in October.

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But economists cautioned against reading too much into monthly swings in the employment data, which often are subject to revisions. September's numbers, for example, were revised upward from 8,200 positions to 21,100 jobs.

“We're reading the economy on the fly,” said Robert Kleinhenz, chief economist for the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp. “That's just the nature of these economic statistics.”

Despite the lackluster November, California's payroll employment grew 2.6% over last year, faster than all but six other states and better than the national rate of 1.9%.

Construction continued to be the leading growth sector, as the industry continues to rebound from the housing crash. The high-paying professional and technical services industry — including lawyers, accountants, architects and engineers — also recorded some of the fastest job growth in the state.

The only industries to post losses were mining and logging, along with manufacturing and financial services.

The state unemployment rate is down significantly from a year ago, when it stood at 7.2%. The jobless rate is often criticized as an incomplete economic indicator because it doesn't count discouraged job seekers who have dropped out of the labor force.

Some of those who stopped seeking employment may be returning to the labor force, which has expanded over the last year even as unemployment fell. That suggests newly returned job seekers may be finding success.

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Economists say job growth tends to taper off as an economic expansion progresses. The U.S. is technically in the seventh year of expansion.

Although California's economic growth has outperformed the nation, there are still reasons for many people to believe their fortunes have not improved.

The gap between high and low earners is more pronounced in California because wages for middle-income earners have fallen.

Since 2006, median wages have declined 6.2% in California, compared with 1.9% for the U.S. overall, according to the California Budget & Policy Center.

California's economy is booming, so why is it No. 1 in poverty?

And while the share of part-time workers has declined since the depths of the Great Recession, that segment of the workforce is still larger than in the mid-2000s. About 5.9% of workers in California are considered part-time for economic reasons — meaning that they are unable to find full-time work.

That's down from 9.6% of the workforce in 2010, but still higher than when the economy last peaked in 2006.

“We don't want to miss the point that we are in one of the better times, employment-wise, in the last 40 years in California,” said Michael Bernick, a former director of the California Employment Development Department. “But at the same time, these numbers don't represent a lot of the instability: the part-time, contingent nature of the evolving labor market.”

Via Chris Kirkham, Los Angeles Times
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-california-jobs-20151218-story.html

Inland Empire’s jobless rate lowest since 2008

The Inland Empire’s unemployment rate dropped to its lowest in more than five years in December to 8.9 percent, reflecting gains in retail and warehousing and raising hopes that the region’s economy is revving up again after years of bad news.

The last time the Inland Empire’s unemployment rate was at 8.9 percent was July 2008, said Michael Goss, spokesman on labor force and industry employment data for the state Employment Development Department, which released the numbers on Friday.

In the last year alone, between December 2012 and December 2013, the unemployment rate for the area encompassing San Bernardino and Riverside counties dropped from 11 percent, with total nonfarm employment increasing by 14,000 jobs and agricultural employment falling by 300 jobs. The trade, transportation and utilities sector posted the largest overall gain with the addition of 9,100 jobs, with nearly 62 percent of that growth in the retail trade.

In the region, the better jobs numbers were raising some eyebrows, and some hopes.

In Fontana, California Steel has seen steady job growth since 2010, said Brett Guge, executive vice president of finance and administration.

“We continue to gradually build up from where we were during the recession,” Guge said Friday. “We have roughly 960 permanent (employees) and another 100 contractors and temporary employees.”

The steel plant had been operating with 800-plus employees during the recession. The initial job loss was attributed mainly to attrition, and when the recession hit those vacant positions were not filled. In 2009, the company began filling those positions again, Guge said.

Now, California Steel has several job openings at any given time and the company is always looking for skilled mechanical and electrical technicians, Guge said.

“Since 2009, each year has been a little bit better than the past. We’re still not quite back to the production levels we were prior to the recession, but we’re closer,” Guge said.

In San Bernardino, business owner Pang Vithean spoke about the future with optimism.

Vithean, owner of The Flaming Grill, opened his small eatery in December in downtown, anticipating a continuing economic recovery and demand from workers at the new courthouse building to open nearby later this year.

“We expect it to improve and to grow, and hope it will grow,” Vithean said of the local economy.

Though economic recovery has been slow and marginal, Vithean remains optimistic that jobs will continue opening up for people.

“People still don’t have a lot of jobs, but we believe it’s getting better,” he said.

Since opening shop, Vithean has hired one employee at his San Bernardino restaurant, and he has hopes to hire more when the new courthouse opens down the street.

For every 50 customers each day, Vithean hopes to add two or three employees over the next several months.

Vithean’s employee, Lina Chea, said she was hired at Flaming Grill after a year without a full-time job and with a family to support.

“It was so hard for me,” she said.

Vithean wasn’t the only who has some hiring optimism. So does Amazon, which opened its giant distribution center in 2012 in San Bernardino.

Amazon expects to continue hiring this year, and recently announced plans to open a distribution center in Moreno Valley, where more than 1,000 full-time jobs will be created, Amazon spokeswoman Kelly Cheeseman said in an email Friday.

The doubling of jobs at the Amazon distribution center (700 to 1,400), from the time it opened for operations in October 2012 to the time of its grand opening in October 2013, factored into the region’s warehouse sector growth. Transportation, warehousing and utilities increased by 2,000 jobs, with an additional 1,500 jobs in the wholesale trade, according to latest Employment Development Department statistics.

While Amazon doesn’t specifically track where its employees come from, most are from the Inland Empire, Jackie Underberg, Amazon’s general manager, told this newspaper.

Broken down by county, San Bernardino County’s unemployment rate was at 8.7 percent as of December 2013, and Riverside County’s was 9.1 percent.

The data is in line with San Bernardino County figures, which show that the county’s labor force increased by 3,000 workers from July 2011 to the present, said Kelly Reenders, administrator of the county Economic Development Agency.

She said the county continues to see new businesses breaking ground and existing businesses expanding.

The Inland Empire was one of the hardest hit regions in the nation during the Great Recession, hitting a peak 14.6 percent unemployment rate in early 2010.

The data also mirror some better numbers statewide.

The EDD estimates that 17 million California residents had jobs in December, up 24,000 from November and 291,000 from December 2012.

But the jobs numbers might actually be better than what the EDD reports. The unemployment rate is derived from a federal survey of 5,500 California households while job growth is based on a survey of 42,000 businesses around the state.

Some economists note that the monthly EDD report does not capture what is actually going on in the economy and that stronger growth is reflected in quarterly data from the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics. The state’s annual revision to the jobs data will be done later this year.

And that has some taking the news with a grain of salt.

“Initially it sounds like good news, but we have to be cautious,” said Paul Granillo, president and CEO of the Inland Empire Economic Partnership, which works with the region’s largest businesses and educational institutions to improve the area’s business climate and quality of life.

He said the unemployment figures are based on a survey of residents that may not accurately reflect the number of people who are actually unemployed, given the way the questions are framed in the survey.

“It may look like it’s great news, but the reality is there are still a lot of people who still do not have jobs,” Granillo said.

Staff Writer Gregory J. Wilcox contributed to this story.

via: http://www.sbsun.com/business/20140124/inland-empires-jobless-rate-lowest-since-2008

Just five 'job killer' bills alive as legislative session nears end

The more than three dozen bills that the California Chamber of Commerce labeled as "job killers" because they would increase regulation or raise taxes have been whittled down to just five as the 2013 legislative session enters its last days.

All of the others have either been held in committee or defeated in floor votes, but technically, will still be alive for the second half of the biennial session that begins in January.

The highest-profile survivor of the original 37 bills is Assembly Bill 10, carried by Assemblyman Luis Alejo, D-Watsonville, which would raise the state's minimum wage by $2 per hour over the next five years.

The measure was approved by the full Assembly and reached the Senate floor, awaiting another vote, after Alejo agreed to remove an automatic cost-of-living escalator.

The other four bills on the list that remain alive include:

• Senate Bill 404 by Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson, D-Santa Barbara, which would extend the Fair Employmentand Housing Act's protections against discrimination to employees who are engaged in family care duties;


• Senate Bill 365 by Sen. Lois Wolk, D-Davis, which would place a 10-year time limit on business tax exemptions;


• Senate Bill 691 by Sen. Loni Hancock, D-Berkeley, which would increase penalties for non-vehicular air quality violations; and


• Assembly Bill 769 by Assemblywoman Nancy Skinner, D-Berkeley, which would repeal the net operating loss carry back deduction for business.

Seven constitutional amendments aimed at lowering the vote threshold for local government and school taxes are technically still alive, but would require two-thirds legislative votes to be placed on the 2014 ballot. Legislative leaders have put them on hold until next year.

Read more here: http://blogs.sacbee.com/capitolalertlatest/2013/08/just-five-job-killer-bills-alive-as-legislative-session-nears-end.html#storylink=cpy

Support the California Homes and Jobs Act of 2013!

Campaign News August 06, 2013

In just 6 days, the California Homes and Jobs Act will be heard by the first Assembly policy committee, with the second hearing scheduled only two days later. Housing and Community Development: Monday, August 12 (1:30 p.m.)  Labor and Employment: Wednesday, August 14 (1:30 p.m.)  DAY 2 of Our 6 Days of Action  Imagine a legislator who serves on the Assembly committees getting 200 letters one day, 100 phone calls two days later, and 300 tweets the day of the hearing, all asking for a YES vote for homes and jobs for Californians.   Today's Action: CALL the members of the Assembly Housing and Community Development Committee.  If you can make 3 calls, phone: Cheryl Brown 916.319.2047 Brian Maienschein 916.319.2077 Beth Gaines 916.319.2006 What to Say: "Hi, my name is ________. [If calling on behalf of an organization . . .  I'm calling on behalf of __________.] I am a strong supporter of SB 391: The California Homes and Jobs Act. Our community desperately needs the jobs and affordable places to live that it will generate. I urge Assemblymember ________ to vote yes on SB 391 in housing committee on Monday."   __________________________________________________________________ If you can make 6 calls, first phone the Assemblymembers above (using the script above), then phone the Assemblymembers below (using the script below): Ed Chau: 916.319.2049 Toni Atkins 916.319.2078 Sharon Quirk-Silva 916.319.2065   What to Say: Hi, my name is ________. [If calling on behalf of an organization, I'm calling on behalf of __________.] I am a strong supporter of SB 391: The California Homes and Jobs Act. I wanted to call and thank Assemblymember ________ for coauthoring SB 391 and let the Assemblymember know we appreciate his/her yes vote in housing committee on Monday." Take credit for your work!  Enter your name to let us know you made calls.  What else can you do? Forward this e-mail to your listservs/contacts.  via: http://ow.ly/nH0Ce

AB 218 Fairness in Government Hiring Practices

AB 218 (Dickinson) helps level the playing field for qualified Californians to compete for jobs and promotes public safety by reducing unnecessary job barriers for the nearly seven million adult Californians with a criminal record. The bill applies to state agencies and city and county employers by delaying a criminal background check inquiry until later in the application process. Please send in your organization’s letter of support for AB 218 by March 25th.

Send in your letter of support on your organization’s letterhead to Assembly Judiciary Committee via fax at 916-319-2188 and to Assemblymember Dickinson via email Taryn.Kinney@asm.ca.gov or fax (916) 319-2107 (Attn: Taryn Kinney).

Please cc: Michelle at mrodriguez@nelp.org for tracking purposes.

 

[LETTERHEAD]

 

[DATE]

Chair Bob Wieckowski and committee members

Assemblymember Roger Dickinson
Assembly Judiciary Committee
1020 N Street, Room 104
Sacramento, CA 95814
Via facsimile (916) 319-2188
Via electronic mail Taryn.Kinney@asm.ca.gov or facsimile (916) 319-2107

RE: SUPPORT FOR AB 218

Dear Chair Wieckowski, committee members, and Assemblymember Dickinson:

[ORGANIZATION] strongly supports AB 218, which helps level the playing field for qualified Californians to compete for jobs and promotes public safety by reducing unnecessary job barriers for the nearly seven million adult Californians with a criminal record.

AB 218 removes the question about an individual’s criminal history from state, city, and county job applications while permitting a background check later in the hiring process. Studies have shown that stable employment significantly lowers recidivism and promotes public safety. All of California will benefit when people with criminal records are no longer shut out of jobs and can financially support their families and contribute to a strong economic recovery.

[DESCRIPTION OF ORGANIZATION; WHY ISSUE IS IMPORTANT TO ORGANIZATION; IF APPROPRIATE, INCLUDE ANY STORIES OF WORKERS]

In California and around the country, qualified job applicants are plagued by old or minor records and discouraged from applying because a “box” on job applications requires criminal history information that leads many employers to unfairly reject their applications. Because people of color are especially hard hit, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) recently endorsed as a best practice removing the question about conviction histories from job applications to maximize compliance with federal civil rights law.

AB 218 follows the lead of six states and over 40 U.S. cities and counties that have removed the conviction history inquiry from initial job applications in public employment and instead delayed a criminal background check until the later stages of hiring. AB 218 allows people with a conviction history to compete fairly for employment without compromising safety and security at the workplace. The bill exempts jobs for which a criminal background check is legally required and law enforcement related positions.

Public sector employers in California have a special obligation to pave the way for the private sector to reduce barriers to employment of people with criminal records. For these reasons, [ORGANIZATION] strongly supports AB 218.

Sincerely,

[NAME]
[TITLE]