{"id":162614,"date":"2026-02-03T22:55:13","date_gmt":"2026-02-03T22:55:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/162614\/"},"modified":"2026-02-03T22:55:13","modified_gmt":"2026-02-03T22:55:13","slug":"gov-newsom-in-orange-county-to-unveil-the-regions-plans-for-jobs-jobs-jobs-orange-county-register","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/162614\/","title":{"rendered":"Gov. Newsom in Orange County to unveil the region\u2019s plans for \u2018jobs, jobs, jobs\u2019 \u2013 Orange County Register"},"content":{"rendered":"

Gov. Gavin Newsom stopped by the Medtronic campus in Irvine this morning, where county business leaders handed him their plan to boost local industry.<\/p>\n

In the midst of the pandemic, Newsom in 2021 launched an economic development planning process that would later become, in 2023, California Jobs First<\/a>. The initiative splits the state in 13 regions, with each tasked with developing a clear vision for its economic future. Orange County, which recently reassumed its rank as the world\u2019s 4th largest economy, <\/a>operates under the plan as its own region.<\/p>\n

In 2022, each region was granted $5 million to create specific plans to develop area-specific strategies to bolster job growth.<\/p>\n

\u201cLos Angeles, or even the folks up there near Eureka, they all got $5 million,\u201d Newsom said at Tuesday\u2019s Feb. 3 press conference. \u201cIt\u2019s about regions rising together.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another $9 million in state \u201ccatalyst\u201d funding was awarded to each of the 13 regions in 2024, to go toward creating grants to turn ideas and strategies into projects ready to be implemented; those projects can then compete for other federal, state and private funding opportunities.<\/p>\n

Nearly $1.6 billion in investments last year went toward training more than 142,000 workers and creating upwards of 61,000 new jobs across the regions, Newsom said.<\/p>\n

\"California<\/p>\n

California Gov. Gavin Newsom enters a press conference for the Orange County Regional Plan at Medtronic in Irvine, CA on Tuesday, February 3, 2026. The plan includes 46 projects that recieved $9 million in state funding. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

\"California<\/p>\n

California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks about the Orange County Regional Plan during a press conference at Medtronic in Irvine, CA on Tuesday, February 3, 2026. The plan includes 46 projects that recieved $9 million in state funding. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

\"California<\/p>\n

California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks about the Orange County Regional Plan during a press conference at Medtronic in Irvine, CA on Tuesday, February 3, 2026. The plan includes 46 projects that recieved $9 million in state funding. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

\"Jeffrey<\/p>\n

Jeffrey Ball, CEO and President of the Orange County Business Council speaks about the Orange County Regional Plan during a press conference at Medtronic in Irvine, CA on Tuesday, February 3, 2026. The plan includes 46 projects that recieved $9 million in state funding. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

\"California<\/p>\n

California Gov. Gavin Newsom holds up the Orange County Regional Plan during a press conference at Medtronic in Irvine, CA on Tuesday, February 3, 2026. The plan includes 46 projects that recieved $9 million in state funding. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

\"California<\/p>\n

California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks about the Orange County Regional Plan during a press conference at Medtronic in Irvine, CA on Tuesday, February 3, 2026. The plan includes 46 projects that recieved $9 million in state funding. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

Show Caption<\/p>\n

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California Gov. Gavin Newsom enters a press conference for the Orange County Regional Plan at Medtronic in Irvine, CA on Tuesday, February 3, 2026. The plan includes 46 projects that recieved $9 million in state funding. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

Expand<\/a><\/p>\n

The Orange County Business Council was at the forefront of creating the county\u2019s regional plan.<\/p>\n

The organization\u2019s President and CEO Jeffrey Ball handed Newsom during the conference what he joked was a \u201cmodest, 700-page\u201d framework for facilitating the area\u2019s economic growth.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe contracted with 27 organizations, trusted messengers in our communities,\u201d Ball said of the process that brought about the plan. \u201cWith their engagement, we deployed surveys, social media, canvassing, community forums and more, working in 11 different languages to get input on what a stronger, more equitable and climate-forward economy should look like in Orange County.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe also built a steering committee of 70 organizations and individuals who have final input and say on the outcomes of this initiative \u2014 powerful effort \u2014 which yielded over 5,000 respondents,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

The catalyst funding was able to support 46 projects, Ball said, which range from a wildfire-responsive recovery job training program to a job placement program for neurodivergent individuals in healthcare.<\/p>\n

And $1 million was set aside to fund the county\u2019s priority industry sectors, which Ball said are healthcare, med-tech, childcare, semiconductor and tourism.<\/p>\n

The med-tech industry is a critical sector of Orange County\u2019s economy, employing more than 21,000 workers; of\u00a0the 1,552 major medical device and equipment companies in the state, more than 235 are in Orange County, according to the Greater Irvine Chamber of Commerce.<\/a><\/p>\n

Last year, California ranked second in employment cuts nationwide,<\/a> the reverberations of which were felt by at least 158,700 workers by November. Newsom was asked by reporters about this first year-over-year drop in the state since the pandemic.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s exactly why we\u2019re here. That\u2019s what these strategies are about, and it\u2019s exactly what I was highlighting as it relates to our larger industries and some of those job cuts we\u2019ve seen, not just in the state of California, but across the United States,\u201d Newsom said. \u201cWe\u2019re losing manufacturing jobs. Why? Because of tariffs. Because of mass deportations and the impact that it\u2019s having on labor force participation.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe impacts of those are disproportionate in the state of California\u201d and on tourism, he added, a \u201cbig part of the Orange County thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo we recognize our approach needs to be organic,\u201d he said. \u201cTo the 5,000 people who participated in the plan, job well done. We have a lot more work to do.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Gov. Gavin Newsom stopped by the Medtronic campus in Irvine this morning, where county business leaders handed him…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":162615,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[163,165,164,7,400,457,2462,1286,100,611,13,136],"class_list":["post-162614","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-anaheim","tag-anaheim","tag-anaheim-headlines","tag-anaheim-news","tag-california","tag-california-politics","tag-gavin-newsom","tag-irvine","tag-jobs","tag-news","tag-orange-county","tag-politics","tag-top-stories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/162614","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=162614"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/162614\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/162615"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=162614"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=162614"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=162614"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}