blog post Who’s Leaving California—and Who’s Moving In? By Hans Johnson, Eric McGhee Feb 7, 2024 The primary driver of California's population loss over the past few years has been residents moving to other states. We examine the latest demographic data for those moving out of and into our state and discuss factors that underlie these decisions.
Fact Sheet Public Pensions in California By Radhika Mehlotra, Patrick Murphy Mar 15, 2019 State and local governments face large and growing pension obligations. This fact sheet provides a snapshot of California’s public pensions and liabilities, their impact on local budgets, and policy changes that aim to tackle rising costs.
blog post Many of California’s Highly Educated Workers Are Retiring By Hans Johnson Jan 24, 2019 Record numbers of Californians are retiring, and without producing more college graduates, the state could see a shortfall of 1.1 million highly educated workers by 2030.
blog post Video: Gavin Newsom’s Priorities By Linda Strean Nov 15, 2017 Gavin Newsom, California’s lieutenant governor and a candidate for governor, says the most important issues facing the state are debt and demographics, energy and climate change, and the future of work.
Report Will California Run Out of College Graduates? By Hans Johnson, Sarah Bohn, Marisol Cuellar Mejia Oct 12, 2015 California’s higher education system is a critical driver of the state’s economic progress. As the state’s economy continues to change, will its workforce be ready for the jobs of tomorrow? This report updates and extends projections of California’s workforce skills through 2030, focusing on the supply and demand for workers with a bachelor’s degree. We find that the state will fall about 1.1 million college graduates short of economic demand if current trends persist—a problem we call the workforce skills gap. Even the arrival of highly educated workers from elsewhere is unlikely to be large enough to fill this gap. Today’s college graduates have better economic outcomes than those who do not hold a bachelor’s degree. Over time, college graduates have seen lower rates of unemployment and higher wages than other workers—even through the Great Recession—suggesting that college degrees have become increasingly valuable in California’s labor market. The future workforce skills gap looms large. But California and its higher education institutions can take several practical steps to close it. The core of a new plan for higher education should include increasing access to the state’s four-year institutions, improving college completion rates, expanding transfer pathways from community colleges, and being smart about aid programs.
Report Planning for California’s Growing Senior Population By Hans Johnson, Laurel Beck Aug 6, 2015 California’s senior population is entering a period of rapid growth. By 2030, as the Baby Boom generation reaches retirement age, the over-65 population will grow by four million people. It will also become much more racially and ethnically diverse, with the fastest growth among Latinos and Asians. Many more seniors are likely to be single and/or childless—suggesting an increased number of people living alone. All of these changes will have a significant impact on senior support services. We project that by 2030 slightly more than one million seniors will require some assistance with self-care, and that the demand for nursing home care will begin to increase after decades of decline. These changes will have direct budget implications for the Medi-Cal and In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) programs, both of which pay for care and services for low-income seniors. The state will need additional resources, including nursing care facilities and health care professionals, especially those who provide home- and community-based services. California’s community college system will be critical in training workers to meet the state’s health care workforce needs for the growing and changing senior population.
