Updated
Updated · Times of San Diego · Jun 3
California to Outgrow U.S. as UCLA Sees 5.6% Jobless Peak and Iran War Risks
Updated
Updated · Times of San Diego · Jun 3

California to Outgrow U.S. as UCLA Sees 5.6% Jobless Peak and Iran War Risks

3 articles · Updated · Times of San Diego · Jun 3

Summary

  • California’s income and output are still projected to grow faster than the U.S., even after UCLA Anderson slightly downgraded its outlook from three months ago.
  • 5.3% unemployment in April is expected to rise to 5.6% later this year, reflecting tepid hiring despite support from tech, venture capital and other high-productivity sectors.
  • Iran war risks could hit California harder than much of the nation because the state relies on already-costly low-emissions gasoline and Pacific trade moving on fuel-intensive ships.
  • 110,000 housing permits a year remain far below what California needs, while deportations may shrink construction labor and tariffs are raising imported material costs.
  • Nationally, UCLA sees a more stagflation-like backdrop, with real GDP growth slowing to 2.1% through late 2026 and 1.8% in 2027.

Insights

Is California's AI boom a path to prosperity or a trigger for an unprecedented high-skill unemployment crisis?
As a new shipping crisis strangles global trade, is California's economy uniquely vulnerable to a 1970s-style collapse?
With tariffs crippling construction and home sales at 'depression levels,' is California’s housing crisis now unsolvable?