Riverside County Economy On the Upswing

Riverside County’s economy is on the upswing, and predictions of a downturn in the near future is not likely, according to Christopher Thornberg, director of the Center for Economic Forecasting & Development at UC Riverside and founding partner of Beacon Economics.

Backing up his positive economic prediction, Thornburg noted that disposable income is increasing, while unemployment is decreasing, currently at 6.3 percent, from a recession-high of 15.2 percent.

There are, however, certain factors which could possibly negatively impact the economy. One such danger is the potential minimum-wage increase, and its effect on blue-collar families. Thornberg recommends increasing publicly supported childcare and earned income tax credits over raising the minimum wage. Another possible problem could be an ever-growing surplus in the state as the general fund money is needed to offset pensions that the region is behind on.