Sam Zuckerman reports in this morning’s San Francisco Chronicle on the results of a study by Bain & Co. to be released later this week on California’s climate for employment.
The cost of doing business in California is about 30 percent higher than in the average Western state, largely because of higher wages and benefits, according to the study.
Bain also attempted to measure the cost, uncertainty and complexity of California’s environmental, labor and other regulations. It constructed what it called a regulatory hassle index that took into account such factors as compliance costs, the threat of lawsuits and delays in obtaining permits that hamper operations.
The index showed that “California is far worse than any other state in the union, by a very significant margin,” said Jeff Melton, a partner in Bain’s San Francisco office.