Inland Empire home to hottest U.S. job market in last 5 years (L.A.-O.C.? No. 26)

Let’s politely say the Inland Empire’s economic progress is often under-appreciated.

For example, did you know Riverside and San Bernardino counties had the nation’s fastest job-growth among major metropolitan area during the past five years?

When I filled my trusty spreadsheet with a new job study from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, I learned employment in the Inland Empire grew 22 percent in the five years ended in August, best among 51 U.S. regions with populations above 1 million.

The Inland Empire beat out some of the nation’s highly touted economic powerhouses: No. 2 job for growth was Orlando’s 21.4 percent just ahead of Austin’s 20.6 percent. Las Vegas was the No. 4 job builder in 2013-18, up 19 percent, then came Charlotte, up 18.2 percent. Oh, No. 6? Northern California’s Silicon Valley, up 18.1 percent.

And bosses in Riverside and San Bernardino counties managed to double the hiring pace of two noteworthy benchmarks. For starters, U.S. jobs overall grew by 9.3 percent in the five-year period. And the perhaps sexier job market in Los Angeles and Orange counties grew by 9.9 percent since ’13 — a middling 26th rank in this study.

This hiring spree was quite a reversal for the Inland Empire, a loser of 0.4 percent of its jobs in the five years ended in August 2013. Let’s be honest, though: Few bosses were in a hiring mood in that period — during and after the Great Recession.

Employment losses in Riverside and San Bernardino counties in 2008-13 tied the U.S. employment dip for the period. That narrow drop ranked the Inland Empire No. 30 out of the 51 big job markets tracked for 2008-13. But L.A.-O.C. was down 1.8 percent, ranking No. 40. Austin’s employment growth, by the way, was best in the 2008-13 period, up 12.2 percent.

Please note, this is not simply a bounce off a harsh bottom. The IE’s recent job mojo is strong. In the 12 months ended in August, its employment grew 3.5 percent, No. 6 nationally behind Orlando, Seattle, Vegas, Houston and Phoenix. L.A.-O.C.? No. 37 at 1.2 percent job growth!

So what’s the secret sauce in the Inland Empire? A look at another data set, this one from state job watchers, shows that location-location-location certainly helped. Let’s ponder what gave Riverside and San Bernardino counties — adding 267,600 new workers in 2013-18 — the nation’s leading hire pace.

The I.E.’s much-discussed booming warehousing operations (up 39,600 jobs or 146 percent in five years) supports the ever-changing and growing shopping needs of broader Southern California. Being the region’s “affordable” housing option translates to booming populations in Riverside and San Bernardino counties. Thus, construction employment surged 33,000 — or 46 percent — since ’13.

Eye-catching growth like that means industries that support daily life also have flourished. Inland Empire bosses in healthcare and social assistance added 41,700 workers, or 24 percent, in five years. The popularity of eating out boosted restaurant employment by 28,700 or 27 percent. And local government jobs — primarily education — increased by 29,500 or 17 percent.

I know the Inland Empire can be the butt of many cultural yuks, no less some serious debate about the quality of its economic boom. But let me note that we could be talking about Pittsburgh, an economically depressed region I lived in from 1979 to 1986.

Why look to Steel City? Well, in the last five years, the federal job shows Pittsburgh as the nation’s job-creation laggard among major metro areas as its employment grew by just 2.2 percent. Next was Virginia Beach, Va., at 3.8 percent; then Rochester, N.Y., and New Orleans at 3.9 percent; and Hartford, Conn., at 4.2 percent.

Ponder what stingy hiring means the next time you’re stuck in the Inland Empire’s infamous traffic. Because census bureau data shows typical commute times in Pittsburgh are eight minutes quicker!