San Bernardino County’s unemployment rate plunged from 5.2 percent to 4.6 percent between the beginning of March and the end of April. A report by Chmura Economics and Analytics for the San Bernardino County Workforce Development Board stated that job growth is expected to continue, and will likely sustain itself into the next decade, with business growth and employment gains anticipated in most sectors.
The significant jobless rate decline was revealed in data released by the California Employment Development Department on May 19.
The unemployment rate in the county is now lower than that overall for the entire State of California, which fell to 4.8 percent when 16,300 jobs were added in April, according to the California Employment Development Department.
Extrapolating on economic trends from the third quarter of 2015 through the second quarter of 2016, Chmura Economics and Analytics in its missive “The State of the Inland Empire Economy” predicts employment growth will continue across all 21 major business sectors over the next 10 years, with particular growth in healthcare, social assistance, construction, and professional, scientific and technical services. The manufacturing sector should add more than 22,000 jobs by 2026, Chmura prognosticated.
The report is not completely optimistic, however, as the region’s workforce – consisting primarily of youthful high school and college graduates – is expected to grow at an annual rate of 0.5 percent to 0.6 percent, well beyond the projected statewide average of 0.2 percent to 0.4 percent, and outrunning the number of jobs to be created to employ those graduates.
Robert Lovingood, chairman of the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors, said the results of the Chmura study are an important reminder of the Inland Empire’s growing status as a regional economic engine.
“We have what businesses, industries and employers need – land, access to transportation, a great quality of life and, most important, a strong pipeline of workers and job seekers with unlimited potential,” Lovingood said. “With all of this, the Inland Empire will be a leader in driving business growth and job creation across Southern California.”
The Inland Empire has recently outpaced California overall in terms of putting people to work, increasing the pay of those who are already working and in retail sales, according to the Chmura study. In the field of health care, that trend will continue, the Chmura study predicts.
“Overall, the Inland Empire is positioned for continued growth and is ripe with substantial opportunities for workforce development,” according to the report. “As many of these opportunities will occur at the intersection of workforce, economic, postsecondary, and community development, the San Bernardino Workforce Development Board is uniquely positioned to have a transformational impact on the region’s future.”