Chamber of Commerce host this year’s economic forecast

This year’s Southwest Regional Economic Forecast was hosted by the Temecula Valley Chamber of Commerce in Temecula, California, at the South Coast Winery Resort and Spa.  This year's theme was “Business without Boundaries,” meant to emphasize the region as a force to be recognized.

Citiy managers from several surrounding cities joined the Temecula city manager to give a brief presentation on their respective cities and do some bragging.

Temecula’s city manager said the City of Temecula just hit a 3.5 percent unemployment rate which is the lowest it has ever been for the city, and consistently lower than the state and national rates; this is something he was very proud of.

He added that there are over 53,000 jobs in Temecula and one of their newest restaurants to the city announced that it would be adding 560 new jobs soon.

As part of the Temecula city manager’s presentation he stated that over $700 million is contributed by tourism to their local economy each year, and boldly stated that their region is the future of Southern California.

The city is experiencing a growth that centers on being the extreme sports capital of the world with several sports park with over 650 teams and bringing in over 70,000 visitors. The city has invested about $8 million in the boat launch and $14 million more towards a world-class campground, and much more.  

Another city official stated that for bricks and clicks businesses, website are the key to their world with their lifestyle centered around mixed-use developments that aims at bring residents and business owners within their community together.

The keynote speaker at this gathering of city officials was the director of the UC Riverside Center for Economic Forecasting and Development as well as the Founding Partner of Beacon Economics. He is also believed to be the nation’s leading economists. He said the forecast is based on trends, the local economy within a city and government policies.

This keynote speaker stated that one out of every six jobs is created in California and that the state as the eighth fastest growing economy in the world. He also predicts that in about 25 years California’s economy will be growing faster than the nation’s.

He also noted that one of the biggest changes in employment growth based on income level took place in the $100K or more tax bracket.

In regards to one of the regions in the Temecula area, he said it was growing faster than the state and has been doing so since 2011, making it the one of the largest economy in the nation. He also cited the income date in the Southwest Riverside County that reportedly showed that 17 percent of residents were making over $100,000, which is a higher percentage than the known affluent Orange County.
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He told the city leaders and other attendees of this economic forecast event that housing brings bodies which in turns brings growth to the city.