Macroeconomics and Microeconomics - Merced County Research Paper

Macro economics and Microeconomics - Merced County - Research Paper ExampleSixty eight percent of the population lies between 18 and 65 years, which is a good indicator of the countys labor force market. Agriculture is the base of the countys economy. As a result, Merced has been ranking among the top producers of chicken, cattle, calves, milk, cream, tomatoes, and silage in the state of California. In addition, the county is home to close to of the worlds largest agricultural processing facilities, including the Hilmar Cheese production, Fosters Farms Poultry processing, Ingomar Packing Company tomatoes processing, and Ernest and Julio Gallo winery. Despite this, the unemployment rate has been on a steady rise since 2000 in the county. Census reports indicate that the rate of unemployment was 9.6% in 2000, shooting to 16% in the 2009 census. The countrys overall economic crisis since 2001 may be a reason, nevertheless there is need to salvage the situation. The rise in unemploymen t is a contributing factor to the current last rates of crime. Another economic metric of irritation is the labor market, which stood at 90,500 in 2000, increasing to 105,200 in 2009 (US Census Bureau). The figures indicate that there has been a relative growth in the countys labor force. Accordingly, 86,678 individuals elder than 16 years were under employment in comparison to 105,059 the year 2009 in the same category, indicating a slow growth of employment opportunities in the county. brand-new business establishments rose from 4700 in 2000 to 5832 in 2009. Other metrics indicate that the county is experiencing a dormant growth in large-scale business establishment, but with much small-scale businesses being setup. The result is the absorption of a relatively small percentage of the labor market by the new businesses. Another concern is the educational level of the countys population. According to the US census Bureau data of 2000, only about 68.5% of individuals older than 25 years had attained a high school diploma, and a mere 11% had a bachelors degree or higher education. these percentages are low compared to the averages of California state, which recorded 76.8% in high school diploma holders and 26.6% with a bachelors degree or higher, indicating that the work force is relatively under-qualified. Sustainability in the food manufacturing and processing has changed the laborious reliance of the economy on production of farm crops. Consequently, the county has been attracting a significant number of manufacturing and processing plants with interests outside the agricultural sector. The countys economic development is a responsibility of the Merced County Economic Development Corporation (MCEDCO). The corporation oversees the economic coordination of various efforts and organization that seeks to improve the countys labor force market as substantially as provide a favorable business environment that will attract new businesses into the region (Moff at 46). MCEDCO claim that the county has been changing its reliability on agriculture but the fact is that the county still relies on the agricultural sector, from revenues to job (which often pay low wages and are seasonal). In order to maintain economic sustainability of the county, there is need for the MCEDCO to engage in several economic development efforts, including general economic development, economic base diversification, workforce training and education, economic partnerships, exist business retention and expansion, new business recruitment and attraction, and tourism attraction. The MCEDCO (whose members