California’s Low-Wage Workers and Minimum Wage

Mar 11, 2024 - We apply this method to monthly CPS data from January 2022 through December 2023 to construct the estimates that appear in Figures 3 through 7 in the post Is California’s Minimum Wage High, Low, or Somewhere in Between?
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4878/4

California’s Low-Wage Workers and Minimum Wage

Mar 11, 2024 - Over the last decade, two statutes —Chapter  351 of 2013 (AB  10, Alejo) and Chapter  4 of 2016 (SB  3, Leno) —gradually have increased California ’s statewide minimum wage from $8 per hour to $16 per hour.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4878

California’s Low-Wage Workers and Minimum Wage

Mar 11, 2024 - Figure  3 shows that most low-wage workers live in households without any children under 18. Roughly 20  percent live with one child, 15  percent with two children, and fewer than 10  percent with three or more children.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4878/1

California’s Low-Wage Workers and Minimum Wage

Mar 11, 2024 - As shown in Figure  3, our estimates suggest that the share of workers in low-wage jobs declines by more than one-third between the ages of 25 and 32. This decline suggests that a substantial share of workers spend just a handful of years in low-wage jobs before moving on to mid-to-high-wage jobs.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4878/2

California’s Low-Wage Workers and Minimum Wage

Mar 11, 2024 - As shown in Figure  3, although California ’s nominal minimum wage has doubled over the last decade, the hourly wage gap between low-wage (10 th percentile) workers and average (median) workers has barely changed over that period.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4878/3

The 2026-27 Budget: California Competes Extension

Mar 18, 2026 - Figure  3 shows how credits have been allocated across sectors over the last five years. Of the $1.2  billion in awards made between 2021 and 2025, around $650  million, or over half, has been allocated to businesses in advanced manufacturing.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5162

The 2026-27 Budget: State Mandate—Disclosure Requirements and Deferral of Property Taxation

Feb 19, 2026 - In particular, state law directs our office to report on the annual state costs for new mandates and make recommendations to the Legislature as to whether the new mandates should be (1)  repealed (permanently eliminating it or making it optional), (2)  suspended (rendering it inoperative for one year), (3)  modified, or (4)  funded.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5130

Fixing Unemployment Insurance

Dec 2, 2024 - Figure  12 shows how the state ’s current taxable wage base and our recommendation compare to other states. If the state raised the maximum weekly benefit amount, the corresponding taxable wage base would also need to increase.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4943

The 2025-26 California Spending Plan: Other Provisions

Oct 16, 2025 - The budget provides $5  million in one-time General Fund for California Volunteers to offer grants to AmeriCorps programs to fund coaches at K-12 schools. This program has received limited-term funding in prior years, including $5  million in 2024-25.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5081

The 2025-26 Budget: Update on Implementation of New Firearm and Ammunition Tax

Feb 19, 2025 - These funds would be allocated to school districts based on their share of statewide enrollment in grades 7 to 12. The budget package also required school districts to certify by July 2029 that a certain portion of their staff who work directly with students in grades 7 to 12 have received youth behavioral health training at least once.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4970