Economy on the Uptick But State Revenues Come Up Short

February revenues were $146.3 million below budget estaimtes, according to State Controller John Chiang’s monthly cash report released March 12.

Chiang attributed the shortfall to “a large increase in early tax refunds going out during the month of February.”

Nearly $100 million of the total came in lower-than-expected personal income tax collections for the month.

Nonetheless, Chiang says the econmy is improving.

“The broader economic context suggests that both California and the nation continue to heal. Recently revised (Gross Domestic Product) figures from the (federal) Bureau of Economic Analysis placed real economic growth at 3 percent during the fourth quarter of 2011.”

California’s unemployment rate fell below 11 percent in January for the first time in three years, the Employment Development Department reported March 9.

The unemployment rate was 11.2 percent in December and 12.1 percent in January 2011.

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