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Researchers tell Senate enforcement raids coincided with private‑sector job declines in California
Summary
Economists and regional analysts told the Senate Labor and Public Employment Committee that escalations in federal immigration enforcement in 2025 coincided with measurable private‑sector job losses in California, and urged state planning including wage‑replacement or stimulus options to blunt local impacts.
Enrique Lopez Lira, director of the UC Berkeley Low Wage Work Program, told the Senate Labor and Public Employment Committee that California’s labor market has shown virtually no net employment growth since January 2023 and that low‑wage workers — about 35% of the state workforce — face acute pressure from rising living costs and policy shifts.
“Large federal cuts to medical funding could lead to significant job losses not only in California’s health‑care sector but other industries as well,” Lopez Lira said, citing model estimates that link cuts in programs including Medi‑Cal and SNAP (CalFresh) to declines in employment and tax revenue.
Edward Orozco Flores of the UC Merced Community and Labor Center presented the committee with…
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