SOUTHLAND CALIFORNIA SUMMARIZED HISTORY, FACTS,  AND DEMOGRAPHICS 

Economic Activities

Since the earliest settlement of the region by the Spanish in the 18th century, agriculture has been vital to the California economy. The gold rush of the mid-19th century was followed by the intensive exploitation of petroleum and other minerals. As the population grew, fishing and forestry became important, and by the late 19th century light manufacturing industries had developed. Industrial diversification proceeded swiftly in the early 20th century. The motion-picture, radio, and, later, television industries added other dimensions to the economy. World War II (1939-1945) accelerated industrial development and spawned the state's large aerospace industry. Government and educational services expanded rapidly after the war, as did tourism and other service industries. The economy suffered a recession in the early 1990s, fueled by cutbacks in aerospace and other military-related industries, coupled with a slowdown in housing construction. By the late 1990s, however, California's economy had rebounded, showing sustained growth in both jobs and production.

California had a work force of 16,586,000 people in 1999. Of those the largest share, 34 percent, worked in the diverse services sector, doing jobs such as restaurant work or computer programming. Another 21 percent worked in wholesale or retail trade; 13 percent in federal, state, or local government, including those in the military; 11 percent in manufacturing; 8 percent in finance, insurance, or real estate; 5 percent in construction; 4 percent in transportation or public utilities; 4 percent in farming (including agricultural services), forestry, or fishing; and just 0.2 percent in mining. In 1998, 16 percent of California's workers belonged to a labor union.