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By Bo Tefu, Joe W. Bowers Jr. And Antonio Ray Harvey | California Black Media
California’s personal income increased by 8.2% in the first quarter of 2024 due to higher wages, salaries, and property income, stated the July report released by the state Department of Finance last week.
The report indicated that California’s real gross domestic product grew by 1.2% in the first quarter of this year. In the past two years, national inflation rates decreased by 6.1%, slowing down inflation to 3% in June 2024.
However, the report showed that the national unemployment rate gradually increased by 4.1%, a total of 162,000 individuals are without formal jobs. However, California’s unemployment rate remained at 5.2% in June this year. The state’s labor force increased by 7,200 people and civilian household employment grew by 17,500 jobs. A majority of the jobs created by the state were driven by trade, transportation, and utilities. Other sectors such as government, private education, health services, and hospitality and leisure added jobs in the past year. However, the manufacturing sector experienced the largest job loss, losing nearly 3,000 jobs in June. Other sectors that suffered great job losses included construction followed by mining and logging.
The state permitted a total of 106,000 housing units in May, a 5.1% increase from last year. The median sale of a single-family home now costs approximately $900,720 in June 2024.
California’s Preliminary General Fund agency cash receipts were $361 million, a little above the forecast for the 2023-2024 fiscal year.
“June is an important month for personal and corporate income tax receipts because it contains the due date for second quarter estimated payments,” the report stated.
According to the financial report, personal income tax cash receipts were $145 million in June, remaining slightly above the forecast for the current fiscal year. Annual withholdings, a percentage of an employee’s earnings paid directly to government-mandated collections, decreased by 9.9 %.
The report highlighted that single-month readings are often misleading and inaccurate due to calendar changes that affect the timing of payments and stock-based compensation.
