California: State's Job Losses Persist

California employers shed a net 8,400 jobs in December, capping three consecutive years of falling payroll employment — the worst performance since the early 1990s recession.

The report released Friday by the state Employment Development Department was discouraging to economists, who have long been expecting an upturn in hiring. And it was unsettling to budget watchers who know that California can't hope to emerge from its deep fiscal hole without a boost in jobs and income — and the tax revenue they generate.

The employment numbers stand in sharp contrast to a raft of upbeat data showing that the economy is poised for solid expansion. Consumer confidence is on the rise in California. Ditto for factory orders and production. Corporate profits are up. The state's housing market is on a tear. And income tax payments to Sacramento are running ahead of projections.

What's missing from the party are tens of thousands of newly hired Californians who, by anyone's reckoning, should have been on the job by now. Some analysts worry that unless companies start boosting their payrolls soon, the recovery could fizzle before it really heats up.

There are PLENTY of jobs being created by this economy. The economic statistics that are being cited are deeply flawed. They don't measure jobs being created in India.

Califoria? It's always been the first state into recession and last one out since I first graduated from college in 1980. Why should this recession be any different. In fact, in lieu of the fact that it cost employers up to 10x more for power, more for water, 2-4x more for property, and as much as 2x for labor costs and payroll related costs, why should companies have a "brick and mortar" presence in California? Every job that can be exported, either overseas or across the border to AZ, NV, or OR, is being moved. The only reason I still have a job is that it was with a private contractor to a local (County) agency. My company proposed moving every last one of about 300 people in my organization to India, but the County refused to agree. As it was, we moved about 1/3 of the jobs to Texas, and a couple of other states, and have about 30 (of an original 100) foreign contractors on site.

The job hemorage coincides with the national problem, has been underway since the mid-ninties, and picked up a huge amount of steam about Y2000. California leads the way ... though the blunders of its politicians.

SFS

The report released Friday by the state Employment Development Department was discouraging to economists, who have long been expecting an upturn in hiring.

Aren't these the same folks who tell us that inflation is due to greedy workers demanding too much in wages???

(Obligatory sheesh)

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