🚀 go-pugleaf

Here is a press release from the Pacific Gas & Electric. 
I downloaded the press release from 
the PR On-Line BBS in Maryland at 410-363-0834.

 California Slump Slowing National Recovery, Says Economist
 To: National Desk
 Contact: Leonard Anderson of Pacific Gas & Electric, 415-973-5930

   SAN FRANCISCO, June 1  -- California, the state
that has resisted business downturns and served as the engine to pull
the nation out of past recessions, continues to be mired in a
prolonged economic slump and shows little sign of recovery before
1994, forecasted Dr. Tapan Munroe, chief economist for Pacific Gas
and Electric Co.
   "The California economy is not yet ready to participate in the
national recovery," said Munroe in his Economic Outlook report
pblished Tuesday.  "As a matter of fact, the state is definitely
slowing down the national recovery."
   The major issue for the state and national economies is jobs.
"If we measure recovery in terms of job growth, we would not expect
the state economy to begin recovery until mid-1994," the economist
said.
   Munroe noted that between June 1990 and last December, Southern
California accounted for almost three-fourths of the job losses in
the state and 27 percent of the nation's job losses.  "What is
astounding is that the city of Los Angeles, alone, was responsible
for nearly 18 percent of the U.S. job losses in that period."
   California will continue to lose jobs for the remainder of this
year, with non-farm employment declining by 1 percent for 1993 vs.
2 percent in 1992 and 3 percent in 1991, Munroe forecasted.
"The state will do well to eke out a small job growth in 1994
-- 0.5 percent in non-farm employment for the year."
   Monroe expects most of the job growth in the next 18 months to
occur in the San Francisco Bay Area and Central Valley.  "We are
beginning to see some growth in Stockton, Modesto and Fresno, and
growth is beginning in the Santa Rosa-Petaluma area."
   Reduced spending on defense has hurt California, but the cutbacks
are not the major cause of job losses, said PG&E's chief economist.
Manufacturing, wholesale and retail trade and construction show
greater losses in the period from May 1990 to last November.
   "The majority of job losses in these sectors are due to
structural changes in the various industries.  Thus, it is risky for
us to assume that these jobs will return to California once the
national economy fully revives," said Munroe.
   "California must pay a great deal of attention to the creation of
new enterprises and start-ups in emerging industry clusters if it is
to get back on its feet and attain the growth in output, income and
jobs that it obtained in the 1980s," the economist said.
   Munroe feels the state is hurt by "cost-of-doing-business" issues
-- steep workers compensation payments, high litigation costs,
"inflexible" environmental regulations, and a lengthy, expensive
process to obtain permits to establish and expand businesses.
   Munroe noted that Southern California has been particularly hard
hit by the recession, while the San Francisco Bay Area and Central
Valley have fared slightly better due to different economic
structures.
   Overall, however, it may be several years before California
reaches pre-recession levels of job growth, and regional economic
disparities will continue, with Southern California trailing the Bay
Area and Central Valley in terms of recovery, said Munroe.

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-- 
Nigel Allen, Toronto, Ontario, Canada  ae446@freenet.carleton.ca