Replacing Husing will be no easy feat, Keil said. Keil said he will utilize the IEEP’s network of business and government contacts to develop these next-gen strategies for the labor market and other trends. A 2017 analysis by McKinsey Global Institute suggested automation could lead to the elimination of 75 million jobs worldwide by 2030. A long-term detriment is that robots eliminate many traditional shipping jobs. Amazon and other retailers regularly bring in new automated features to push e-commerce retailing to higher levels.
That new technology is becoming more prominent by the month. “But we have to be part of the new industrial revolution, and the key to that is robotics.” it’s a key part of the economy,” Keil said. “We will still look hard at the logistics industry. Others are concerned that increases in freight traffic lower the quality of life for local residents.Īs an academic, Keil plans to study where incomes used to be in the region and where they can be in years to come. According to the UC Riverside’s Center for Economic Forecasting and Development, wages statewide increased 4.3% in the first quarter of 2019 but only 2.8% in the Inland Empire.
According to the state Employment Development Department, 128,000 Inland residents are employed in the warehousing sector, more than 8% of the salaried workforce.īut many of these jobs pay less than $15 an hour and do not offer many benefits. Online retailer Amazon has opened 13 fulfillment centers in seven years and employs more than 20,000 people. The logistics industry played a big part in the region’s recovery. Unemployment is now down to 4.3%, according to the state’s August report, and the Inland Empire’s year-over-year job growth of 1.8% makes it Southern California’s fastest-growing market for work. According to federal data, some $10 billion in gross domestic product in the two-county region disappeared between 20. The decline in housing prices led to unemployment that topped 15% in the spring of 2010. When Keil first started focusing on the Inland Empire in 2009, its economy was in distress. It will be exciting to see what direction the Inland Empire can go.” “It’s an interesting time, and we’ll be looking at the effects of automation in a big way. “The Inland Empire has done well in growing employment, but not so well in terms of pay growth,” Keil said.