The snapshot of the Central Valley is not pretty. Low wages coupled with a population growth that is outpacing job growth means that poverty and unemployment will still plague the area of California from Bakersfield to Redding unless communities work together to diversify industries, create jobs and better train the workforce.

These are the findings of the Great Valley Center, a Modesto-based think tank that last week released the latest in its report series, “The State of the Great Central Valley.” This particular report, “The Economy,” looked at factors such as population, income, housing, business, agriculture, transportation, and federal and nonprofit spending.

Together, the indicators paint a far bleaker picture than the last time the Great Valley Center put out its economic report five years ago. The recession, foreclosure crisis and loss of prime farmland to urbanization have strongly affected an economy that depends largely on its agricultural base, along with construction and transportation jobs – both industries that have been severely hurt by the recession.

“Whereas in the past we asked if Valley residents were able to afford buying and owning a house, we now measure how many families are losing their homes to foreclosures. Addressing these challenges will require sustained, concentrated effort throughout the Valley,” wrote Great Valley Center President David Hosley in the report.

Report author Amy Moffat points out this startling fact: If the Central Valley itself were considered a state, its agricultural value would rank as No. 1 in the country, but the per capital income would rank No. 48 in the nation. Moffat is the director of research and communications for the Great Valley Center.

Here are the center’s five key recommendations to municipalities, businesses, educators and service providers:

1. Improve the quality of the valley’s workforce through training and education.
2. Continue to support agriculture as a regional economic base.
3. Diversify the economy to meet the needs of a growing workforce through new industries such as clean technology, energy and renewables.
4. Capitalize on the momentum surrounding the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and demand greater parity of funding from government sources.
5. Know the needs of rural communities in order to develop appropriate solutions for their issues.

The Southern San Joaquin Valley – comprising Kern, Tulare, Kings, Fresno, and Madera counties – is faring better in some indicators than other parts of the Central Valley, but worse in others. For example, while all other Central Valley regions experienced dips in job growth last year, the Southern San Joaquin Valley experienced an increase in job growth. However, the labor force is still growing faster than new jobs.

Below are some key findings from the report that give a clearer idea of the economic state of Kern County as it relates to the Central Valley. The entire report is downloadable from www.greatvalley.org after Wednesday, Oct. 28.

Population

The Central Valley’s population is expected to double in the next 40 years.

While birthrate plays a major role in population growth, the majority of the Central Valley’s population growth continues to come from migration. Between 1990 and 2006, the number of immigrants in Kern County increased by an average of 10.5 percent per year.

Income

Per capita income in the Central Valley is among the lowest in the country.

In 2007, the per capita income of the Central Valley was $29,790, 29 percent below the state average of $41,805.

Housing

The foreclosure rate in the South San Joaquin Valley was 3.8 percent in 2008, which is on par with the statewide rate of 3.9 percent. The North San Joaquin Valley was hit hardest with a 7 percent foreclosure rate in 2008.

During the 2000-2005 period, the number of residential building permits granted increased by 68 percent throughout the Central Valley subregions. That trend took a drastic turn from 2005 through 2008, showing a decrease in residential building permits granted by 75 percent, an overall 58 percent decrease since 2000.

The North San Joaquin Valley experienced the greatest overall decline from 2005 through 2008 at 88.3 percent. Least affected by the housing crisis was the South San Joaquin Valley, which decreased by 68.4 percent.

Job Growth

The South San Joaquin Valley had the greatest percentage increase for the entire period of 2000-2008 in job growth, with a total of 144,400 jobs added.

From 2000 to 2008, the Central Valley’s labor force grew faster (15.9 percent) than jobs (13.2 percent).

Unemployment Rate

As of 2008, the last complete year of data available, the Central Valley annual unemployment rate was almost 42 percent higher than the California average.

Annual unemployment rates are consistently highest in the North and South San Joaquin Valley, ranging from 9 to 12 percent.

(As of September 2009, the California Employment Development Department reports Kern County’s unemployment rate at 13.9 percent.)

Wages

Wages are consistently lowest in the South San Joaquin Valley. In every industry category, wages in the Central Valley are lower than the state average. The closest parity is government jobs. The largest disparity is jobs in Information.

Employment by Industry

Agricultural jobs comprise 19.7 percent of total jobs in 2008 in the South San Joaquin Valley.

Agriculture provides more than 10 percent of jobs in the Central Valley. Five years ago it was twice that rate at 20 percent.

While agricultural jobs are decreasing, the impact of the Central Valley’s agricultural industry is increasing. In 2002, the Central Valley provided 57 percent of California’s agricultural production. That grew nearly 20 percent to 76.5 percent in 2007.

Between 2000 and 2006, 4.9 percent of the Central Valley’s prime agricultural land was converted to urban uses. The South San Joaquin Valley, which contains the top three agricultural counties in the state (Fresno, Tulare and Kern), is experiencing the greatest amount of prime farmland loss, at more than 16,000 acres from 2000 to 2006.

Agricultural Output

California is the most agriculturally productive state in the country, producing more than 12 percent of the national output. California grows more than half of the United States’s fruits, nuts and vegetables and produces more than 400 different crops and commodities. If the Central Valley were its own independent state, it would easily rank highest in agricultural production by nearly 47 percent more than Texas.

Employment Changes by Industry

From 2003 to 2009, the Central Valley lost jobs in all goods-producing industries and gained jobs throughout the service-producing industries except for information and financial activities. Government jobs saw an 8 percent growth, but this could be skewed by jobs in the Sacramento region. Educational and health services grew by 16 percent; Trade, Transportation and Utilities declined by 46 percent.

Freight Traffic

Though freight traffic in the Central Valley has decreased since 2001, the Southern San Joaquin Valley continues to have the most total truck miles traveled on the state highway system (1,443,176) compared to the other Central Valley subregions.

Federal and Nonprofit Spending

The Central Valley receives only 64 percent of the average federal per capita spending.

Nonprofit revenues in the Central Valley are only 56 percent of the national average and 62 percent of the state average.