Financial Capital
A Summary of Findings
Overall, the
Sierra Nevada is prospering financially. However, that prosperity is concentrated
largely in the North Central counties, where job creation has outpaced
population growth, and unemployment is lower than in California as a whole.
In addition, per capita income in the North Central Sierra exceeds the
California average and investment in high speed Internet is substantial.
By contrast,
trends in the other Sierra regions—South Central, East, and North—are
more mixed. In the South Central Sierra, population is growing faster
than jobs. In all three regions, unemployment has climbed since the recession
in 2001. Seasonal unemployment continues to be a problem in the North
and the East, as well as in parts of the South Central. Per capita incomes
in these three regions have fallen behind the North Central as the income
gap continues to widen. Also, the number of low paying jobs exceeds the
number of higher-skilled, higher paying jobs, resulting in unaffordable
housing for many.
Regionwide,
tourism—heavily dependent on the natural beauty and landscape of the Sierra—now
accounts for 15 percent of the region’s total payroll. In a number of
counties, it is the single most important economic activity.
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INDICATORS OF FINANCIAL CAPITAL
Per
Capita Income
Sources
of Personal Income
Earnings
Per Job
Income
Distribution
Employment
Dynamics
Labor
Force Participation Rates
Unemployment
Economic
Structure
Economic
Diversity
Fastest
Growing Sectors
Economic
Multipliers
Patents
Nonresidential
Construction
Per
Capita County Revenue
Business
Establishments
Bank
Accounts
Exports
by Product Sector
Percent
of Payroll Generated by Travel Spending
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