LF: For many, California not so golden

Title: For many, California not so golden
Source: [None]
URL Source: http://www.dailynews.com/ci_14022041
Published: Jun 10, 2010
Author: Dana Bartholomew, Staff Writer
Post Date: 2010-06-10 14:32:22 by Jethro Tull
Keywords: None
Views: 46038
Comments: 112

For many, California not so golden

Posted: 12/17/2009 11:18:28 PM PST

People may be streaming out of California in record numbers, but don't tell that to the commuters on a crowded Metro Red Line platform in North Hollywood on Thursday, Dec. 17, 2009.

With the California economy sputtering at half- speed, population growth has slowed to a crawl as residents head east in search of jobs, according to a report released Thursday.

Following a recent trend of decelerating population growth, the state grew less than 1 percent over the past year — the slowest in a decade, according to the state Department of Finance.

Los Angeles County, a former destination of choice for immigrants, faced a growing exodus of residents but still grew at 0.65 percent as births outnumbered deaths.

Demographers say the robust birth rate will cause even more residents in the next decade to leave Los Angeles for other counties and states in search of cheaper homes and better jobs.

"L.A. County will probably follow the state trend, with a lot of (births), and immigration," said Mary Heim, head demographer for the Department of Finance. "(But) you'll probably continue to lose residents to other states and counties.

"They initially come to L.A. to join a network of other immigrants, then they begin to want what other Americans want — a house in the suburbs, a backyard, good schools for their families, parks."

In the fiscal year ending in July, the California population increased to 38,487,889 residents, an increase of 0.93 percent.

That translates to 353,000 more residents — the current population of Santa Ana — living within the Golden State.

While 15 counties posted growth from

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immigration, 25 counties recorded a net loss of out-migration. The state gained 179,000 new foreign immigrants and lost 142,000 residents to other states.

By comparison, Los Angeles County grew by almost 68,000 residents — the equivalent populations of Yorba Linda or San Clemente - to 10.4 million.

But the county lost more residents than it gained through migration. In all, it netted 89,000 through natural increases, or births over deaths.

And it lost nearly 22,000 residents who hit the road for elsewhere.

Likewise, the population growth slowed across most of Southern California, including Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and Riverside counties.

The state's largest population boost was in Imperial County, where natural increases and immigration pushed the number of residents to nearly 182,000, a 2.2 percent spike.

Throughout the decade, the state grew by 4.6 million residents, an increase of 13.6 percent. In comparison, Los Angeles County grew by 800,000 residents, or just 8.3 percent.

Heim predicted California will return to its normal population growth of between 1.2 percent and 1.5 percent, or 500,000 a year, as the economy turns a corner in the upcoming decade.

She said when the economy is in the doldrums, fewer people can afford to move to California, where there are fewer jobs.

Other demographers blamed the region's phlegmatic growth - and the number of immigrants who have fled to greener pastures in such states as Georgia, Florida and Texas and parts of the Midwest - on the poor economy and the state's financial woes.

"The trend is out, meaning that (of) the people who live in California, more are leaving for other states, especially from Los Angeles County," said Eugene Turner, a geographer at California State University, Northridge, who specializes in population studies. "Jobs. High cost of living. ... We've been particularly hard hit.

"California has lost the golden glow it used to have."

Daniel Blake, an emeritus professor in economics and former director of the San Fernando Valley Economic Research Center at CSUN, agreed.

California and Los Angeles County have higher unemployment rates than most other parts of the U.S., he said. While more residents flee the Golden State for better opportunities elsewhere, fewer foreign immigrants are landing here because of the job market.

And fewer residents from out of state now move to California because jobs in home construction have vanished during the longest recession in half a century.

"It's totally jobs related. They don't come if there aren't jobs," Blake said. "Hopefully, the economy will return as vigorously as it was. We need jobs to attract populations from outside the U.S., and from inside the U.S."

Blake said the state budget cuts to colleges and universities could also affect future population growth.

"If we don't start funding education, we won't have the labor force to attract businesses," he said. "And without businesses, no jobs.

"And without the jobs, the population moves on."

Most counties in Southern California saw little population growth over the past year.

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