California County Spotlight: Merced County Workforce, Opportunity Zones, Sites Available

Merced County Spotlight

"From 2013 to 2018, jobs increased by 10.9% in Merced County, CA from 81,645 to 90,567. This change outpaced the national growth rate of 7.8% by 3.1%. As the number of jobs increased, the labor force participation rate increased from 57.4% to 58.0% between 2013 and 2018"

Demographics Report

274,589

Population (2018)

90,567

Jobs (2018)

Photo Courtesy of Webcor Builders

$46.3K

Median Household Income

Merced County is the proud home of several emerging technologies, renewable energy, food processing, agriculture, and manufacturing companies which include Foster Farms, Hilmar Cheese, E&J Gallo Winery, as well as Waymo, who leases 100+ acres at the Mid-California International Trade District (MCITD) at Castle . to advance their self-driving vehicle technology. Merced County offers an innovative 2,000-acre multimodal industrial manufacturing and logistics hub designed to house about 8 million square feet of modern industrial development. With easy highway connectivity via State Route 99, Interstate 5, and Highway 152, as well as close proximity to major cargo airports, seaports and the nation’s two largest railroads, BNSF and Union Pacific, Merced County is well positioned to meet all logistic requirements throughout California and the Pacific Rim.

Merced County Incentives and Opportunity Zones are the most exciting and newest tools in Economic Development- offering assistance with tax incentives for investment, as well as individually crafted incentives for new development -considered on a case-by-case basis in Merced County.

Opportunity Zones in Merced County

Opportunity Zone Info in Central California

Merced County Incentive Programs

UC Merced is the fastest growing University of California campus with projections to increase its student population to 10,000 by 2020. With a leading school of Engineering, a proposed Medical School, and several other highly sought after fields, UC Merced is a great workforce development partner.

Current Workforce Programs at UC Merced

Professional Learning Academy

New Development - If you are looking for a place to start, relocate or expand a business, look no further than Merced County. Merced County offers competitive real estate prices and is proud to work at the speed of business with no initial building permit/project review taking place in excess of 30 days!

Merced County Featured Property

Merced County Shovel-Ready Sites/Buildings

Order your site search today!

Merced County Business Assistance

Worknet Merced County works with businesses to meet hiring goals, lower training costs, and reduce turnover rates. Business services can be customized to meet specific business and industry employment requirements while maintaining employer competitiveness and involvement in the workforce development system and strengthening the local economy. Our Business Services Team will work with you to determine the best approach in meeting your organization’s employment and training needs — at no cost. Services include:

Customized recruitment and hiring assistance
Funds for training new employees
Qualified candidate referrals and résumé screening
Job fairs and job postings

If you are having difficulty in hiring workers with the skill sets your company needs, the following programs can help offset the costs of training:

Expanded Subsidized Employment (ESE)
On-the-Job Training (OJT)
Rapid Response

To learn more about how Worknet Merced County can assist your business with its employment and training needs, please contact our Business Services team a t [email protected].