Forecast: California Economy Should Grow

A report says California´s economy should see moderate growth this year, despite budget woes.

The quarterly UCLA Anderson Forecast says an increase in jobs, combined with a pickup in trade and improvements in the general U.S. economy should generate moderate growth this year and accelerated growth in 2005-2006.

The report´s co-author Joseph Hurd says he predicts the state´s job growth to be about point-eight percent this year and around two percent next year. So far, however, the job growth hasn´t translated into a significant reduction in the unemployment rate, which has been around six percent.

Despite the job shortfall, signs indicate Californian´s personal incomes are rising.

For this year, Hurd is looking for personal income to rise 4.9 percent.