The Inland Empire is at an economic crossroads. That’s the conclusion of State of Workers in the Inland Empire 2025, a report released this month by the Inland Empire Labor and Community Center at UC Riverside.
While the study has some positive things to say about the Inland economy, its general conclusion is that moving up the economic ladder is becoming increasingly difficult for most people who live in Riverside or San Bernardino counties.
“While (the Inland Empire) has benefited from some positive employment and wage trends, structural inequalities in income and the rising cost of living, especially housing, continue to limit upward mobility,” the report states in its introduction…