Good Jobs Being Replaced By Not So Good Jobs in California

Jobs lost in California during the last national recession have since been replaced largely by lower-paying jobs, as fewer higher-paying jobs were created statewide over the past two years, according to an economic report.

The type of jobs created in California since November 2001, when the recession ended, have been mostly in service industries that pay an average of 40 percent less than higher-paying jobs in technology and other areas, the Washington-based Economic Policy Institute said Wednesday.

The decline of high-wage jobs, particularly in technology and manufacturing, as lower-wage labor and service jobs have increased is part of a national trend. Only two states - Nevada and Nebraska - saw the creation of more higher-paying jobs, said EPI, a nonprofit, nonpartisan think tank.

Nationwide, the jobs gained paid an annual average of 21 percent less than the jobs lost. Only Massachusetts and Delaware had a higher average of lower-paying jobs than California.

"Good quality jobs are disappearing, especially in California," Jack Kyser, chief economist for the Los Angeles Economic Development Corp. "It's a real challenge."

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