California's employment numbers are not expected to return to normal anytime before at least 2005, according to the newly released on December 11, 2003 by the UCLA Anderson Forecast. The report, released on quarterly basis, indicates that the state will create approximately 134,000 jobs in the upcoming year, which translates into a growth rate of just under 1 percent. Though such pace most likely will not get California's unemployment rate of 6.6 percent any lower, it is nevertheless an indication that California's job prospects will be slightly better than the nation's, since U.S. nonfarm employment is expected to increase by 0.6 percent next year.

The report suggest that the services sector, which includes education and healthcare, will grow faster than the overall economy, while the information sector is projected to grow by 2.4 percent in 2004. The business and professional services sector is also expected to post gains. In addition, the report projects an increase in California's personal income by close to 5 percent, up from 3.6 percent currently, as well as an increase in taxable sales by 5 percent in 2004. The report predicts that Southern California's economy will continue to outpace that of the Bay Area.

For more information about this report, please visit the UCLA Anderson Forecast website at: http://www.anderson.ucla.edu/research/forecast .

To expand communications between Washington and California, the California Institute provides periodic bulletins regarding current activity on Capitol Hill that directly impacts our state. Bulletins are published weekly during sessions of Congress, and occasionally during other periods.

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