Inland area stakes its own economic ID

Inland area stakes its own economic ID

Friday, November 19, 2004

By JACK KATZANEK / The Press-Enterprise

Inland Southern California's economy is getting closer to standing on its own, two regional economists said Thursday. Riverside and San Bernardino counties will not only continue to outpace Ventura, Los Angeles, Orange and Imperial counties in job creation in the next two years, but will start to see positions that pay better. The two-county region, once derided as a place for low-paying jobs, will see its base of professional jobs increase much faster than in the neighboring counties to the west, the experts said.

(snip)

In 2003, the per capita income for an Inland worker was $24,200 - essentially the annual wage of an experienced retail salesperson - compared with $38,506 in Orange County and $31,177 in Los Angeles County, according to the Cal State Fullerton economic forecast. Incomes in the Inland counties are projected to rise at a faster clip than the coastal counties in the next two years as the area adds more professional jobs. Workers in Orange and Los Angeles counties will still make more, but the gap will narrow.

(snip)

Cal State Long Beach economist Grobar said the region's economic shift east will continue in the next few years because the Inland Empire still has land for commercial and residential development. That could give the area an edge in attracting corporate offices.

(snip)

However, the shipment of consumer goods from West Coast ports through Riverside and San Bernardino counties will remain a vital part of the economy. Husing said the economic benefits of distribution are not well understood outside the Inland Empire. Los Angeles officials and the public recognize traffic on the roads leaving the port, but once the trucks clear Interstate 710, officials have yet to show an interest in the economic effect of the distribution industry, Husing said.

Husing said a person with no advanced education can get entry-level distribution work and eventually be trained for a good, permanent job if he or she can learn the technical skills needed to operate a modern automated warehouse. Manufacturing does not offer this opportunity because that sector has not picked up any steam.

(snip)

Online at: http://www.pe.com/localnews/inland/stories/PE_News_Local_forecast19.a1456.html