Laserfiche WebLink
<br />002665 <br /> <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 <br /> <br />13 <br />