Economy

With a huge number of Californians testing positive for COVID-19 during the omicron variant surge, many have been too sick to work. Here are some answers to commonly asked questions as rules and regulations for workplace safety keep changing.

Updated COVID workplace rules go into effect today. Several of the changes increase protections for vaccinated workers.

Legislators may work on paid leave policies, employee data protections, farmworker elections, and more. There are ballot measure proposals that could impact businesses, and business groups will raise the issue of California’s unemployment insurance fund debt.

The new year brings a raft of new laws for Californians. They’re likely to affect what your neighborhood looks like, how safe you feel, what recourse you have against discrimination — even how you take out your trash. In 2021 the Legislature’s super-majority of Democrats sent Gov. Gavin Newsom hundreds of bills that he signed […]

California has the highest unemployment rate in the country. Several factors are contributing, including the state’s slow-to-rebound leisure and hospitality sectors. But the state has a lot of job openings, and high quit rates suggest workers are optimistic they can find better positions.

At a CalMatters/Milken Institute event, experts discuss how the pandemic has changed the California economy, but why there's reason for hope. Here are three key takeaways.

Lea este artículo en español. During the COVID-19 pandemic earlier this year, Shira Shafir was trying to make vaccine appointments for some colleagues at UCLA.  Unfortunately, the first few times she used MyTurn, part of California’s technological response to the pandemic, the site proved difficult even for her, an adjunct associate professor at UCLA focused on […]

Global supply chain problems have led to a massive backup at Southern California ports. California lawmakers are asking experts about what the state could do to help — including locating temporary storage, growing the truck driving and warehouse workforces, suspending regulations and creating a new inland port.

California’s child care workforce is still 10% smaller than it was before the pandemic, as low wages contribute to acute staffing shortages.

A preliminary estimate shows that the Caldor Fire cost tens of millions in lost economic activity. Wildfires, and the economic disruption they cause, have a large economic impact. But right now, California has a mostly incomplete picture of how much fires cost the state each year.