Almonds mean jobs in Central Valley – report

SACRAMENTO

December 14, 2014 9:03pm

•  May account for 104,000 jobs statewide

•  “The almond industry contributed about 97,000 jobs to the Central Valley economy”

Almond growing and processing has reached a point where 104,000 jobs depend on the little nut, according to a report from the University of California Agricultural Issues Center, which was commissioned by the Almond Board of California.

“Of these 104,000 jobs, total statewide employment generated by almond farming is over 68,000 jobs; direct almond farm employment is about 21,000 jobs, and approximately 47,000 additional jobs are generated through indirect and induced economic activity associated with almond farming,” the report says. “The remaining job generation of approximately 36,000 jobs is associated with the direct, indirect, and induced economic activity of the processing and manufacturing sectors.”

Almond economic impacts and employment comprise a substantial part of total economic activity and jobs in the economy of the Central Valley and especially in rural regions, says the report. “Farms and processors not only employ many Central Valley residents directly, they also buy goods and services from other local firms that also provide jobs and generate incomes.… The almond industry contributed about 97,000 jobs to the Central Valley economy. These jobs are vital in a region that has long had high unemployment.”

The report says that the 2014 almond crop will contribute about $11 billion of value added to the California gross state product -- the measure of the size of the California economy).

And, says the report, the nuts are especially important in international trade. “Almonds are projected to account for about 25 percent of California farm exports,” it says.

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