Photo from Governor Newsom’s livestream yesterday.

Governor Gavin Newsom unveiled the California Jobs First Economic Blueprint yesterday, introducing a plan to create good-paying jobs and boost regional economic growth by leveraging local strengths. Joined by community leaders, officials, and business owners from the Central San Joaquin region, Newsom presented this bottom-up strategy, which focuses on empowering each of the state’s economic regions to drive development through ten key industry sectors.

Focus on Ten Key Sectors

The new blueprint centers on ten critical industry sectors, identified by over 10,000 local residents and experts across the state’s 13 economic regions. This initiative aligns California’s economic, business, and workforce programs to fuel job creation and strengthen local economies.

“Each region of California has its own strengths,” Newsom said. “We’re building out each local economy with a bottom-up approach that’ll connect more good-paying jobs with California families.”

Four Types of Industry Categories

California’s Economic Blueprint categorizes industries into four types:

• Strengthen: Established sectors with competitive positions and strong employment bases.
• Accelerate: Growing sectors ready for expansion with additional investment.
• Bet: Emerging sectors that drive innovation and offer high growth potential.
• Anchor: Foundational sectors that support local economies and industry activities.

The blueprint emphasizes workforce development to meet skill demands in priority sectors, especially in communities that have historically seen less investment. Dee Dee Myers, Senior Advisor to Newsom, explained, “This new economic framework will set the foundation for sustainable and inclusive growth, ensuring that the industries of today and tomorrow provide the good-paying jobs Californians deserve.”

State Funds to Catalyze Local Economic Development

The state plans to release a full version of the Economic Blueprint early next year, along with $120 million in competitive funding over three years for job-creating projects in priority sectors. Stewart Knox, Secretary of the Labor and Workforce Development Agency, highlighted the state’s commitment to workforce development, pointing to a $4 billion investment in job training pipelines that include education, apprenticeships, and earn-and-learn programs.

Building the Blueprint Through Community Collaboration

The California Jobs First initiative evolved from the 2021 Community Economic Resilience Fund, later renamed the Regional Investment Initiative. Since 2022, the state has invested $287 million to empower local communities to plan and implement region-specific economic strategies. Collaboratives within each region—including representatives from labor, business, government, education, and community groups—have developed data-driven plans focused on sectors with high growth potential.

In March, Newsom formed the California Jobs First Council, a coalition of nine Cabinet-level agencies focused on coordinating economic and workforce programs to maximize statewide job creation.

Community Leaders Voice Support for the Initiative

Manpreet Kaur, Project Director for the Kern County Coalition, emphasized the blueprint’s significance to Kern County, a region with a strong labor history led by figures like Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta.

“California Jobs First set the table for all of us, as one Kern County, to sit together and do the hard work, ensuring all people in our region can access quality jobs into the future,” Kaur said.

Newsom on the Blueprint’s Vision for California

Governor Newsom praised the broad collaboration behind the California Jobs First Economic Blueprint, calling it a pivotal effort to foster economic growth across the state.

“There’s so much noise in our politics,” Newsom said, “and then there’s a moment like this…that distills a sense of well-being, of optimism, and that anchors…in a very vivid way the work we are doing every single day in this state to try to connect this state together.”

He highlighted that, despite California ranking as the world’s fifth-largest economy, some regions still feel disconnected from the state’s prosperity. Newsom underscored the importance of ensuring every part of California shares in economic progress.

Central Valley’s Role and Contributions to the Blueprint

Governor Newsom expressed admiration for the Central Valley’s role in shaping the California Jobs First Economic Blueprint, noting the region’s historical and economic significance. He praised local leaders for their dedication to the blueprint, which he said reflects a “bottom-up” vision rooted in community values. He acknowledged Kern County’s legacy, shaped by leaders like Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta, who championed workers’ rights and community resilience.

Reflecting on a conversation with former Fresno Mayor Ashley Swearengin, Newsom shared how her invitation to witness the Fresno DRIVE initiative inspired his own vision for California Jobs First. This experience, he said, reinforced the importance of regional-focused economic planning and highlighted the Central Valley’s potential to lead statewide economic transformation.

State Commitment to the Central Valley and Kern County

The Governor emphasized that the California Jobs First initiative will ensure communities in Kern County and across the Central Valley gain access to good-paying jobs and economic resources traditionally concentrated in coastal areas. He highlighted early funding for several Central Valley projects, as part of a $287 million allocation toward regional economic plans, with more investments to follow.

With $120 million in additional competitive grants set to launch in January, Newsom assured Central Valley residents that these investments will not only strengthen the local economy but also create new pathways to prosperity. He underscored his administration’s commitment to making California’s economic growth truly inclusive.