<br />002665
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<br />are increasing. In 1940, 6.3 percent of the Nation's
<br />population resided in this area. By 1950 the per-
<br />centage had risen to 8.3, and by 1960 it had reached
<br />10.3. By 1970 the area's population was 11.7 percent
<br />of the national total. Employment data indicate
<br />roughly the same trends.
<br />Within the Pacific Southwest, only the Upper
<br />Colorado Region is experiencing a declining or stable
<br />population and employment level. California domin-
<br />ates the area in terms of number of people and
<br />number employed. However, in recent years the
<br />Great Basin and Lower Colorado Regions have
<br />experienced more rapid rates of population and
<br />employment growth than has California.
<br />
<br />Per Capita Income
<br />
<br />Average per capita personal income in the United
<br />States increased from $1,296 in 1940 to $1,805 in
<br />1950, and to $2,544 in 1965. Over time, the regions
<br />within the Pacific Southwest are converging on these
<br />national figures.
<br />California, which has an average per capita
<br />personal income above the U.S. average, is experi-
<br />encing a slower rate of growth in per capita income
<br />than is the United States. In 1940, California per
<br />capita income averaged $1,833 or 1.41 times the
<br />U.s. average. By 1965, while this figure had increased
<br />to $3,095, it was only 1.22 times the national
<br />average.
<br />Conversely, average per capita incomes in other
<br />regions, while below the U.S. average, are growing
<br />more rapidly than the U.S. average. In the Upper
<br />Colorado Region, from a 1940 level of $932 or 72
<br />percent of the national average, per capita personal
<br />income in 1965 rose to $2,167 or 85 percent of the
<br />national average. In the Lower Colorado Region the
<br />
<br />Description
<br />
<br />
<br />respective figures are $1,117 (86 percent) in 1940
<br />and $2,292 (90 percent) in 1965; in the Great Basin
<br />they are $1,236 (95 percent) in 1940 and $2,198 (97
<br />percent) in 1962.
<br />
<br />Production
<br />
<br />The 1965 economies of all of the four regions are
<br />quite similar as to sectoral sources of gross output.
<br />Agriculture, forestry, and fisheries provide 4 per-
<br />cent of total gross output in California and the Great
<br />Basin Regions and 8 percent in the Upper and Lower
<br />Colorado Regions. The other primary secondary
<br />industries-mining and manufacturing- account for
<br />approximately 40 percent of the gross output in each
<br />region. The remaining sectors, called noncommodity
<br />producers and usually providing services, furnish the
<br />remaining 52 and 56 percent of gross output. The
<br />rate of growth in the service industries is expected
<br />to continue in the future.
<br />Total personal income, which constitutes approxi-
<br />mately 80 percent of the gross national product
<br />(GNP), provides a measure of the relative share of
<br />national economic activity which is concentrated in
<br />the Pacific Southwest. In 1940, Pacific Southwest
<br />total personal income was about 8 percent of the
<br />national total. Since that time personal income of the
<br />Pacific Southwest area has grown more rapidly than
<br />has the national figure; In 1965 it was about $53.6
<br />billion, or 13 percent of the national personal
<br />income.
<br />Within the Pacific Southwest, personal income is
<br />concentrated in the California Region. In 1~65, 88
<br />percent of the Pacific Southwest personal income was
<br />accounted for by California, 4 percent by the Great
<br />Basin, 7 percent by the Lower Colorado, and slightly
<br />over I percent by the Upper Colorado Region.
<br />
<br />Table 3.-Employment, 1940-1965 (Thousands of persons)
<br />
<br />Region 1940 1950 1960 1965
<br />California 2,490 4,091 5,766 6,834
<br />Great Basin 173 258 352 431
<br />Lower Colorado 176 288 523 676
<br />Upper Colorado 79 96 112 111
<br />Total:
<br />Pacific Southwest area 2,918 4,733 6,753 8,052
<br />Pacific Sou thwest increase in % 59 49 14
<br />United States 45,376 57,475 66,373 72,179
<br />Pacific Southwest % of United States 6.4 8.2 10.2 11.2
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