Economy

Wal-Mart Closing Stores in California

SACRAMENTO, USA - SEPTEMBER 13: Walmart shopping cart on September 13, 2013 in Sacramento, California. Walmart is an American multinational retail corporation that runs chains of large discount department stores

Wal-Mart is one of the largest retailers in the United States and for good reason. The store offers great low pricing and a wide variety of items, including groceries. It was recently announced by Wal-Mart Stores Inc. that there are plans to close 269 stores, including 154 in the U.S. Nine of those stores are going to be closing throughout the state of California. This news has left many residents worried about how the closings will affect their communities.

 

Stores to close in California

Two stores have already closed, and five are set to close this week. The Los Angeles Wal-Mart store on Crenshaw Boulevard, the Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market located in Chinatown on West Cesar E. Chavez Avenue, and store in Oakland were all closed on Sunday January 17th. Five locations set to close on January 28th include stores in Long Beach, Altadena, Bell Gardens, Hawaiian Gardens, and San Bernardino. Many of the locations that are closing are not full service Wal-Mart locations, but rather Wal-Mart Market stores which specifically sell groceries.

 

How store closing change the community

Residents in the area where these stores closed are really worried about their communities since both areas are not in an economically good place. George Yu is the executive director of the Chinatown business improvement district and is upset to see the Wal-Mart location shut down. The specific Wal-Mart marketplace that closed in Chinatown was opened back in 2013 and was the first full-service grocery store for residents who do not have access to a vehicle. Shoppers were really upset that there is no longer a grocer within walking distance, but Yu has been working to sway another grocery business to move into the old Wal-Mart location.

 

Discounts and deals at other locations.

The five locations in California closing on the 28th of this month, along with the hundreds of other Wal-Mart locations in the United States, will be providing huge discounts before finally closing up. Company spokesman, Randy Hargrove, stated that there was a strong interest from the public to offer a discount in the stores set to close. Of course everything will not receive the special 50% off deal. Items such as firearms, ammunition, fuel, prescriptions, jewelry, lottery tickets, alcohol, wireless plans, smartphones, and tablet devices will all remain at their normal prices.

 

Wal-Mart Corporation speaks out

The company has said that 95% of the stores which closed down in the United States have another location within 10 miles. Shutting down these locations has not only affected the community, but it also makes it difficult for workers of the organization. Associates who are unable to be transferred to another store will receive severance if eligible, or 60 days of pay. The reason for the closing of stores nationwide is to make room for a bigger focus on e-commerce and pick-up services for customers. By 2017, the company hopes to open at least 50 Supercenters, 85 Neighborhood Markets, and 7 Sam’s Clubs. Seven of these new stores will open in different parts of the state including Burbank, Compton, Downey, Lodi, Red Bluff, Rialto, and Ridgecrest. Both Glendora and Riverside locations will be expanded.

 

Wal-Mart is looking at the bigger picture in closing down several of their stores. This definitely does not mean bad news for the business, as Wal-Mart expects to be around for a long time.

 

California’s Unemployment Rate Decreases

California's Unemployment Rate Decreases

California State Senator, Kevin de León, was just in the news for his comments stating California’s job growth has been faster, compared to the nation. It is no wonder that following these statements, the California Employment Development Department has released data from surveys regarding employment in the state. The state of California has actually seen a decrease in the unemployment rate. In the month of November, the unemployment rate decreased 5.7 percent, while the United States unemployment rate remained the same, at 5.0 percent. It seems that the state, which has been working since 2010 in job recovery, is seeing great improvement.

 

Statistical comparisons for unemployment rates

In addition to information about unemployment rates throughout the state, the California EDD also released information regarding nonfarm payroll jobs, which showed an increase by 5,500 during the month of November, leading to a total gain of over 2 million jobs since recovery began in 2010. To really understand this comparison, you have to look at where California was at, in regards to unemployment rates, just one year ago. In November of 2014, the unemployment rate for the state was 7.2 percent. There was also a 2.6 percent increase from November 2014 to November 2015 when it comes to nonfarm jobs throughout the state. There has been consistent growth, month by month, as California is working hard to keep unemployment rates down, and job placement on the rise.

 

What areas is the state seeing job development?

Since the state has noticed a rise in the number of Californians becoming employed, it is important to look at what industries have helped with the increase in jobs. November was a great month for adding jobs in certain fields, and actually added a total of 9,800 jobs in a wide variety of industries. Some of these industries include construction, manufacturing, transportation & utilities, educational & health services, and leisure & hospitality services. There was a decline in jobs in other industries. November job loss came from government information & financial services, professional & business services, and mining & logging. The winner for overall yearly employment gain came from the construction industry, which added over 41,000 jobs in 2015.

 

Those currently unemployed in California

Although the unemployment rate has decreased, there are still  thousands of people unemployed throughout the state. The California EDD also released information regarding those who receive unemployment benefits. There were 355,913 individuals, who received unemployment benefits in the month of November, which is up a little from the month of October, with 334,244 individuals receiving unemployment benefits. Although the state saw an increase month to month, the number of people receiving unemployment benefits is down from November of 2014, when almost 400,000 Californians were receiving unemployment benefits.

It is a great thing that one of the most populous states in the nation is seeing a decrease in unemployment rates and, as a result, are seeing positive job growth. Hopefully 2016 will be another great year for California when it comes to job placement and development for residents throughout the state.

California Job Growth Faster Than the Rest of the U.S.

job-growth-ca

California is one of the most populous states in the nation, so it is no wonder that job growth in the state might be faster than the rest of the United States. Many critics believe that because of the state’s new clean energy law, California’s economy and job outlook might be on the decline, specifically in the oil industry. State Senator, Kevin de León, believes that the new clean energy law has no effect on job growth, as the economy remains consistent.

 

Were Kevin de León’s statements true?

There has been a great improvement in job growth since the Great Recession when that state lost over 1 million jobs between 2007 and 2009. This job improvement has come from a housing rebound, which provided more housing and construction jobs. Economists believe that de León’s statement about California outpacing the rest of the nation in job growth to be true. California’s job growth rate is in fact higher than the country’s overall job growth. Data collected from Chapman University’s Center for Economic Research showed that in 2014, California job growth went up 3 percent compared to the previous year. The country as a whole only saw job growth at 1.9 percent from the previous year. Chief economist at Point Loma Nazarene University, Lynn Reaser, also stated that California outperformed the country for 44 consecutive months. Although these are great numbers for the state, there were actually fourteen other states who also had a higher job growth rate, outperforming the country, in 2014.

 

Kevin de León ‘s statement open to interpretation

Although many believe that these statistics are what Kevin de León meant by the rest of the nation, others believe he could have meant something else. His specific words were “rest of the nation”, but this could have different meanings. He could be talking about the nation as a whole, or he could be talking about each individual state. If he was comparing California and looking at the nation’s job growth as a whole, then he is absolutely right in making the statement. However, there were five other states with faster job growth, with percents higher than the 3 percent California saw in 2014. North Dakota was at 3.8 percent, Nevada at 3.5 percent, Colorado at 3.3 percent, Florida at 3.2 percent, and Texas at 3.1 percent. California can’t be compared to each individual state based off of this data. The office for de León did clarify that the Senator meant that California added more total jobs than any other state, which was a faster pace than the nation.

We are going to assume that de León was in fact comparing California’s job growth to the nation as a whole. Statistics don’t lie, and the Senator is probably proud of his state, which is why he felt the need to boast about job growth and improvement throughout the state. Hopefully, job growth continues in California because it is such a highly populated state and Californians need jobs. It will also help with the great economy that the state already has.