INLAND EMPIRE – (INT) – Riverside and San Bernardino counties are showing their economic strength.

An annual report from the Milken Institute Center for Regional Economics found the Inland Empire was among the top 10 large metropolitan areas in five-year job growth and one-year wage growth. Milken looked at job creation, wage gains and technology developments in evaluating the relative growth of the nation’s metropolitan areas.

The Inland Empire’s overall ranking, which was 44th in 2016, has been climbing since 2014.

By comparison, Orange County fell 28 spots to No. 47, and Los Angeles County fell 13 spots to No. 61. San Diego County fell 19 spots to No. 51.

The report also took note of the region’s diverse set of industrial sectors, which includes education and health care along with logistics and hospitality. Logistics for retail and e-commerce giants including Amazon, Target and Walmart together employ nearly 25,000 employees in the Inland region.

The Inland Empire’s rankings overall were as follows:
Job growth (2011-16): 8th
Job growth (2015-16): 23rd
Wage growth (2010-15): 24th
Wage growth (2014-15): 5th
Short-term job growth (August 2016-August 2017): 50th
High-tech GDP growth (2011-16): 79TH
High-tech GDP growth (2015-16): 69th
High-tech GDP concentration (2016): 130th
Number of high-tech industries (2016): 118th

Story Date: January 21, 2018