San Diego has a base of small medical, biotech and pharmaceutical companies. These are the highest paying jobs here. Recently, Alexion Pharmaceuticals decided to expand in Rhode Island instead of San Diego. The average pay at Alexion’s Smithfield, Rhode Island plant is expected to be about $50,000. You can't get anyone to move here for that pay. The cost of housing is killing the job growth market here.
Funding from local, county and state incentives brought San Diego, California-based DR Technologies, Inc. (DRT) to Dayton, Ohio. Lost another one to Ditech ... I mean competing state.
The city of San Diego has lost and is losing it police force to competing cities. A police sergeant in San Diego can make a top salary of $81,619, compared with $105,352 in San Jose, $96,798 in San Francisco, $95,025 in Los Angeles and $90,177 in Escondido (north county San Diego).
Washington Mutual Inc. said it is cutting an additional 900 jobs here.
New residential construction permits for the county are expected to fall by 38 percent on the year, with further declines in 2007. Housing permits peaked in 2003, with 18,314 permits issued. There will be 9,450 permits issued in 2006.