|
The momentum has been building, and now comes data showing the Inland Empire as the third fastest-growing job market in the U.S. over the past decade. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports that from March 2013 to March 2023, the IE has seen a 36.3% jump in total employment, behind only Austin, TX, and Nashville, TN, among metro areas with more than 1 million population.
This good news comes as San Bernardino County and the IE have attracted widespread attention as one of the nation’s fastest-growing economic and population centers. The region has seen a heavy migration of residents from neighboring counties, and is expected to continue growing at a pace that is more than twice the state average over the next 25-plus years.
That growth, coupled with the region’s dominant and diverse business sectors, helped the IE fully recover job losses from the COVID-19 pandemic faster than any other counties in Southern California. Today, the Top 5 industry sectors in the Inland Empire – government, health care, transportation and warehousing, retail trade and hospitality – each employ more than 180,000 people, according to BLS statistics.
| |
Building a stronger, resilient economy through workforce development | |
|
William Sterling
WDB Chair
As the charts above show, San Bernardino County and the Inland Empire offer businesses and job seekers opportunities they would be hard pressed to find anywhere else. Those opportunities are among the reasons the two-county region continues to make headlines as the place to be in Southern California.
At the San Bernardino County Workforce Development Board (WDB), we are proud to provide the support services that allow individuals to fulfill their career ambitions, while ensuring that businesses have the employment talent they need to grow. Programs such as On-the-Job Training (OJT) are providing workers and employers with the tools and resources to thrive in an increasingly competitive global marketplace.
As we approach the second half of 2023, we expect these positive trends to continue, even amid the broader economic challenges that many are forecasting. Together, we are building a regional economy that is stronger, and more resilient, than ever.
| |
Monthly Labor Market Update | San Bernardino County’s unemployment rate fell 0.4 percentage points in April. Across the Inland Empire, construction added 4,000 jobs during the month, followed by leisure and hospitality (up 1,900 jobs). Year-over-year, the IE saw employment increase by more than 12,000 jobs, led by health care and social assistance, government and professional and business services. | |
|
My first job was in high school working for Digital Sports Imaging (DSI), the first company in the Inland Empire to take and sell action sports photos of youth on magazine covers and trading cards. We’d have a crew of three to five (and I was definitely the youngest) who would get up at the crack of dawn to drive to the soccer or baseball tournament, set up our EZ up/sales station, fire up the computer and printers inside a van that served as our field office, and start planning which fields to shoot. I had an opportunity to do it all,
from being the photographer to lead sales person to fulfilling orders on the computer. Among many life lessons, I learned the importance of versatility and flexibility as something would always disrupt our best laid plans and we had to adapt on the fly.
| |
Connecting Employers and Job Seekers | | |
|
|
More than 50 employers participated in a WDB-supported Hiring Event at Adelanto Stadium on April 27.
| |
|
Local employers will participate in several hiring events at the County’s America’s Job Centers of California (AJCCs) and other venues in the coming weeks:
Thursday, June 15: 4th District Job Fair and Expungement Event, Ontario International Airport, Terminal 1, 1940 Moore Way, Ontario. 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Click here for more information.
Thursday, June 22: Healthcare Hiring Event, Performance Education and Resource Center (High Desert), 17310 Bear Valley Road, Suite 109, Victorville. 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Click here for more information.
Thursday, July 6: Hiring Event, East Valley AJCC, 500 Inland Center Drive, Space 508, San Bernardino. 9 a.m.-Noon. Click here for more information.
Thursday, July 20: Hiring Event, West Valley AJCC, 9650 9th St., Suite B, Rancho Cucamonga. 9 a.m.-Noon. Click here for more information.
| |
|
WDB hosts free virtual seminars throughout the week to help job seekers on topics such as interviewing skills, resume building and navigating the employment resources available during the pandemic. If you know of anyone who could use this valuable assistance, a calendar of upcoming sessions is available here.
In the meantime, here are some upcoming events and release dates:
Friday, June 16: California EDD releases its May jobs report.
Thursday, June 22: “Top 10 Ways to Stay Out of Court – Employers Webinar,” 10-11:30 a.m. Click here for more information.
Friday, July 7: Bureau of Labor Statistics releases its June jobs report.
Wednesday, July 12: WDB Committee Meetings, 290 N. D St., Suite 600, San Bernardino. 8 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
| |
Visit our YouTube channel to view archived videos of our Business Services webinars, such as this one on communicating like a leader. | | |
|
Click here to catch up on past editions of Workforce Update, WDB’s monthly e-newsletter and labor market intelligence report.
If you know others who would like to receive this timely and important information, please invite them to join our mailing list at info.workforce@wdd.sbcounty.gov.
| |
-
WIOA Title I-financially assisted programs or activities are an equal opportunity employer/program. Auxiliary aids and services are available upon request to individuals with disabilities. For federal funding disclosure information, visit: workforce.sbcounty.gov/about/ffd/
| | | | |
