The labor market report for January 2001 will likely show losses arising from the state s energy crisis. Chapman University s fourth quarter survey of Orange County purchasing managers showed that growth of the county s manufacturing sector had slowed. A similar survey of purchasing managers in the Riverside-San Bernardino area, conducted by the Institute of Applied Research and Policy Analysis, found that the Inland Empire manufacturing sector had stopped growing. The recent Federal Reserve easing has pumped some liquidity into the financial system, alleviating earlier concerns about a lack of liquidity. They attributed this to less investment in equipment and building by these customers and fewer mergers and acquisitions.
Bankruptcies continue to decline in California.
Through the first three quarters of 2000, bankruptcies occurred at a 160,000 annual rate. If that rate continued in the fourth quarter, annual bankruptcies were at their lowest level since 1995. Businesses are concerned about energy problems, the change to overtime pay for work in excess of eight hours in one day, and the possibility of higher workers compensation benefits being approved. Export traffic is weakening at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. The studios and writers guild contract talks are dragging while motion picture production is hitting record levels.