December 2011
Exports Support Jobs for California's Workers
Export-supported jobs linked to manufacturing account for an estimated 5.1 percent of California's total private-sector employment. Over one-fifth (22.4 percent) of all manufacturing workers in California depend on exports for their jobs (2009 data latest available).
Exports Sustain Thousands of California Businesses
A total of 57,915 companies exported from California locations in 2009. Of those, 55,530 (96 percent) were small and medium-sized enterprises with fewer than 500 employees.
Small and medium-sized firms generated over two-fifths (46 percent) of California's total exports of merchandise in 2009.
Foreign Investment Creates Jobs in California
In 2009, foreign-controlled companies employed 561,000 California workers. Major sources of foreign investment in California in 2009 included Japan, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, and France.
Foreign investment in California was responsible for 4.6 percent of the state's total private-industry employment in 2009.
California Depends on World Markets
California's export shipments of merchandise in 2010 totaled $143.2 billion.
The state's largest market was Mexico. California posted merchandise exports of $20.9 billion to Mexico in 2010, 15 percent of the state’s total merchandise exports. Mexico was followed by Canada ($16.2 billion), China ($12.5 billion), Japan ($12.2 billion), and Korea ($8.0 billion).
The state's largest merchandise export category is computers and electronic products, which accounted for $43.1 billion of California's total merchandise exports in 2010. Other top merchandise exports are machinery manufactures ($14.5 billion), transportation equipment ($13.0 billion), chemicals manufactures ($11.6 billion), and miscellaneous manufactures ($11.5 billion)
California's Metropolitan Exports
Five metropolitan areas in California exported over $5 billion in merchandise in 2009. The leading metropolitan area in exporting was Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana with $51.5 billion in merchandise exports for 2009. This area represented 40.3 percent of California's exports, and ranked as the third largest metro area exporter nationally. Other major metropolitan areas in California that exported in 2009 included San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara ($21.4 billion), San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont ($16.0 billion), San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos ($13.4 billion), Riverside-San Bernardino- Ontario ($5.4 billion), Sacramento-Arden-Arcade-Roseville ($3.5 billion), Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura ($2.5 billion), El Centro ($2.0 billion), and Bakersfield ($1.8 billion).
Exports Support Jobs
Note: Export-related employment data shown do not include manufacturing and non-manufacturing jobs involved in the export of non-manufactured goods, such as farm products, minerals, and services sold to foreign buyers. Indirect exports exclude imported items. The complete 2009 export-related employment series is available on our Export Related Jobs pages. Additional information on methodology used in the export-related employment series can be found in the U.S. Census Bureau's publication Exports from Manufacturing Establishments: 2009.
Source: State Export-Related Employment Project, International Trade Administration and Bureau of the Census.
Exports Sustain Businesses
Source: International Trade Administration and Bureau of the Census, Foreign Trade Division: Exporter Database.
Foreign Investment
Note: All figures exclude employment in banks affiliated with foreign companies.
Source: U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis.
Trade with World Markets
Source: Revised Origin of Movement State Export Series, Bureau of the Census, Foreign Trade Division.
Caution: The Origin of Movement series allocates exports to states based on transportation origin, i.e., the state from which goods began their journey to the port (or other point) of exit from the United States. The transportation origin of exports is not always the same as the location where the goods were produced. Consequently, conclusions about "export production" in a state should not be made solely on the basis of the Origin of Movement state export figures.
Metropolitan Exports
Source: International Trade Administration and Bureau of the Census, Foreign Trade Division: Metropolitan Export Series.
Caution: The Origin of Movement zip-based series allocates exports to metropolitan areas based on transportation origin, i.e., the metropolitan area from which goods began their journey to the port (or other point) of exit from the United States. The transportation origin of exports is not always the same as the location where the goods were produced. Consequently, conclusions about "export production" in a metropolitan area should not be made solely on the basis of the Origin of Movement zip-based export figures.
Prepared by the Office of Trade and Industry Information, International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce.
Data updated December 5, 2011.
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