I should have predicted this . . . California has the FEWEST job openings . . .

Photo above - what do you mean there ain't no jobs? We just come all the way from Sallisaw, Oklahoma . . .

One of my favorite films is “The Grapes of Wrath”. And not just because the author John Steinbeck was a self-described anti-capitalist, and director John Ford was major supporter of Barry Goldwater and Richard Nixon. You need to embrace both yin and yang to understand this world.

The truth is, I simply love California. I lived there for 2 years, in San Mateo, just outside San Francisco. In fact, there are 36 cities in California named “San” or “Santa”. The weather IS fantastic, and you can drive to the beach in around an hour, provided you don’t live in some desert. When I lived in San Mateo there were PLENTY of jobs. Not so much today. See link below.

With the hundreds of thousands of people leaving California annually for places like Texas, Florida, and the State of Washington, you’d think there would be more “now hiring, apply within” signs. But businesses are closing too. Either they go broke trying to fend off shoplifters, have their doors blocked by homeless tent cities, or the corporations just pull up stakes and go to Texas if they have big bucks like Elon musk. So . . . not that many jobs.

Which explains why you see so many barista/uber drivers on California resumes. These folks used to be waiters/actors, but that’s so 2018. The film industry is fleeing too. Everything is filmed in front a green screen now. The locations are Hogwarts, Middle Earth, or the African nation of “Wakanda”. No need to cast those extras, too. Did you know that you can create 10,000 white walkers in Game of Thrones for about $11,000 in computer time? If you don’t believe me, just watch "Fight at the Fist and see how many are dressed identically. There are actually only 5 or 6 different wights in that blizzard rave.

Some people keep coming to California anyway. And not just the undead. But people who aren't necessarily interested in jobs as the rest of us conceive of them. Panhandling, mass shoplifting, porch pirating, and corner drug sales aren’t typically the best way to start a career.

How about a government job in California? 14% of all residents are employed this way. You have to go to places like DC to find wackier job ratios. But you’d think that even though California already has 2.5 million state, county, and municipal workers, there’d be openings every day. And sometimes there are. The department of education has openings, but for contract workers. They’re not actually hiring full time staff right now. Something about a $50 billion 2024 state budget deficit, or storm clouds on the horizon signaling a new 2025 budget crisis.

Someone might be better off trying to snag that Taco Bell drive-thru gig. By law, it pays significantly more than a lot of California government jobs. And you can be an Uber driver too. Deliver uber eats when your shift ends. Who ordered the Beefy 5-Layer Burrito Supreme®, and 30 ounce Mountain Dew® Baja Blast® Freeze?

I’m just sayin’ . . .

The States with the Fewest Job Openings (And Where Opportunities Are Booming)