The US recently recorded its 80th month of consecutive job growth. This is the longest streak on record and it has helped push the unemployment rate from the 10% experienced in the throes of the Great Recession to the current 4.3%. After a slow, painful recovery, the nation is nearing full employment. California has had a role to play in this upward climb. California outperforms its peers in a number of economic metrics. While only 12% of the US population reside in the state, 17% of job growth came from California from 2012 to 2016. It also accounts for nearly a quarter of gross domestic product. While California had more room to grow economically given the disastrous impact of the housing bust, technology, trade, and tourism have encouraged a robust rebound.
See Mike McPhate, California Today: How California Helps the U.S. Economy, The New York Times, June 5, 2017.
Special thanks to Joel Dobris (Professor of Law, UC Davis School of Law) for bringing this article to my attention.
