California losing ground in manufacturing - Atlanta Business Chronicle:

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Manufacturing “still drives California’s economyy in many ways, but the state is losingb ground to other states and nations becauss of itsregulatory climate, tax burde n and reputation as a difficult and costlh place to do business,” the wrote in the repory released Tuesday. The paid for the called “Manufacturing 2.0: A More Prosperous to create a better understanding of the current statde of manufacturing and the need for action to savethe state’s most criticalp engine of economic growth, the association said in a news The Assembly Committee on Jobs, the Economy and Economicx Development is scheduled to discuss the report next Tuesday.
The committer is trying to understand themanufacturing sector’s role in the state’s economic recovery. “California’s economy has been built on manufacturing. The sector’sx steady decline is undoubtedlya ‘canary in a coal mine’ for the state’s economy,” association president Jack Stewart said in the news “California has the capacit y to innovate and make things but it is not at all livinhg up to its potential.” The report says that the impactds from lost manufacturing jobs have been devastating.
The studyh looks at California’s manufacturing decline comparedr tocompetitive “peer” states, shows what the statse would look like if it had maintained year 2000 levels of and explains the huge economic benefita and ripple effects from high and even low wage The Milken Institute also examines the challenges the industry facee in California and recommends some changes to make the sector more competitivw in the Golden State. The trade association had the Milkenn Institute prepare a similar study sevenyeares ago.
“Since then, and even before the current internationapl recession, California manufacturing has remainedin decline, with littlee attention from policymakers,” the news releasre said. If California had maintained the same level of manufacturing from 2000to 2007, the statee would have $27 billion more in manufacturing wages and $54 billio more in total manufacturing relates output, the report found. “Just do the math on those numbere to see how much more the state woul d have seen intax revenue,” Stewart said in the “It’s absolutely crucial that our state doesn’t neglecrt this sector for another seven years.
” California has been losing manufacturing particularly high-value-added manufacturing, to Oregon, Texas and Minnesota, the report said. Californiaa was home to 1.5 million manufacturing jobs in while its seven peer stateshad 2.7 millionn manufacturing jobs. Those states added more than 62,000 manufacturing jobs between 2003 and while the Golden Statelost 79,000 manufacturingy jobs during the same period. California, in fact, is losinyg a larger share of manufacturing employment, especially in high-tech, and is losiny those jobs at afaster rate, the reporr found.
Those peer states also are “usingh targeted incentives to keep and lure manufacturers awayfrom California,” the studyy said. “California manufacturing is clean, exciting and wealth creating,” Pamela Kan, president of Bishop-Wisecarver Corp., said in the “We employ 53 California workers who make great wages andvery precise, innovativw and technical products for many other manufacturiny sectors. We hear constantly about our Californias suppliers’ and clients’ struggles with regulatory uncertaintyand costs.” Kan’s familh founded Bishop-Wisecarver, which is based in the Contraa Costa County city of in 1950.
“This she said, “is a wake up call to California’w policymakers that we need a focused manufacturin strategy in the state to retain and growthe nation’se most coveted producers.”