 Fresno
California serves as the economic hub of Fresno County
and California’s Central Valley. While the unincorporated
area and rural cities surrounding Fresno California
remain predominantly tied to large-scale agricultural
production, urban/suburban Fresno California has undergone
significant economic transformation in recent years.
Fresno
California agriculture’s decreasing role in
the urban economy is reflected in the decreasing reliance
on agricultural employment in the County. Currently,
just twenty percent of employment results from agriculture,
a significant decrease from just 20 years ago. This
transformation has led to increased friction between
rural and urban interests, as land is converted to
non-agricultural use and resources such as water go
increasingly to more urban uses such as industry and
housing.
 The
City’s current economy is led by Fresno’s
position as the hub for education, healthcare, government
and professional services for the Central Valley of
California. Construction employment has rapidly expanded
as residential and commercial construction underwent
a recent prolonged period of expansion. Food processing
has led the manufacturing sector with such notable
companies as Sun-Maid, David Sunflower Seeds, Kraft
Foods, Foster Farms Dairy, and the Foster Farms poultry
company. Companies specializing in machinery manufacturing,
medical devices and water technology are also present.
Distribution has many centers in the city, led by
the 80 acre site of the Gap Pacific Distribution Center.
Public sector employment is also a major contributor
to the city’s economy with the City of Fresno,
Fresno Unified School District, the County of Fresno,
Community Hospitals and the regional operations center
of the Internal Revenue Service as the largest employers.
Fresno
California has relatively mild winters and very hot
summers.December low temperatures average 37.0 °F
(2.8 °C) with July high temperatures averaging
98.6 °F (35.9 °C), though summer temperatures
regularly soar to highs of 105 °F (40 °C)
or more. Summers provide considerable sunshine, with
July peaking at 97 percent of the total possible sunlight
hours; conversely, January is the lowest with only
46 percent of the daylight time in sunlight.
|
