To support regional community colleges and workforce partners in aligning educational programs with the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office Vision 2030 goals and the economic realities of the South Central Coast (SCC) Region, the COE for Labor Market Research conducted a comprehensive analysis of the region’s labor market, emphasizing not only the number of jobs, projected growth, and demand, but also the quality of employment opportunities across occupational sectors.

The South Central Coast Labor Market Landscape: Assessing Job Quality in the SCC Region report illustrates that while the region offers meaningful opportunities for workers in specific sectors, significant challenges remain. The rising cost of living, an aging population, and the high concentration of lower-wage jobs create barriers to economic mobility. The SCC COE classified 791 occupations into low, medium, and high quality categories to highlight opportunities for high quality employment in the region. Of the 791 occupations 155 (20%) are high quality, 410 (52%) are medium quality, and 226 (29%) are low quality. High quality occupations are concentrated in the health (42 occupations), business and entrepreneurship (32), and education and human development (16) sectors; combined, these high quality occupations accounted for 27% of total regional employment in 2024 (273,291 jobs).

To learn more about high quality occupations in the SCC region, please register for the COE’s upcoming regional webinar on Friday, October 31 at 10 AM using this link. Stakeholders from community colleges, K12 schools, and the workforce development community in Northern Los Angeles, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, and Ventura counties are encouraged to attend.

Coming soon! The SCC COE will also publish county profiles and a Job Quality Dashboard. To stay informed on SCC COE reports and events, sign up for our mailing list.