SCVEDC Blog

The 2024 Santa Clarita Valley Economic Outlook explores a resilient and evolving local labor market characterized by growth in key industries, changing dynamics, and challenges in workforce retention. Employment and business expansion, workforce training initiatives, and business assistance and attraction remain a primary focus, supported by the Santa Clarita Valley Economic Development Corporation’s (SCVEDC) integrated approach to attracting diverse business opportunities and job creation. Here are the highlights and insights on employment and workforce trends shaping the region from the 2024 Economic Outlook Book and the 2024 Economic Outlook conference this September:

The Santa Clarita Valley Economic Development Corporation (SCVEDC) will be recognized by the LAEDC with a Strategic Engagement Award, honoring the SCVEDC’s impactful work in driving economic growth. This acknowledgment celebrates the SCVEDC's dedication to attracting, retaining, and expanding businesses to cultivate a diverse economic landscape and create high-quality jobs for the community.

Adding to this year’s achievements, Santa Clarita was ranked in the lowest cost tier in the Kosmont-Rose Institute's annual 2024 Cost of Doing Business Survey. Notably, Santa Clarita was the only city in Los Angeles County to receive this designation, underscoring its ability to offer a competitive and cost-effective environment that appeals to businesses large and small. The city's streamlined permitting processes, business support services, and access to essential resources have made it a top destination for companies looking to thrive.

Unlocking Economic Potential: A Close Look at Santa Clarita Valley's Largest Employers of 2024

In a world that often feels like a whirlwind of economic challenges and opportunities, it's always refreshing to pause and take stock of the forces that keep our communities thriving. One such driving force is the businesses and their employees that make up our diverse community. The Santa Clarita Valley Economic Development Corporation (SCVEDC), an organization dedicated to fostering sustainable growth and prosperity in the Santa Clarita Valley, once again unveils its annual Largest Employer List for the Santa Clarita Valley. This list, combined with our Economic Outlook data book, helps shine a light on the vibrant economic landscape of our unique corner of Southern California.

Santa Clarita Valley, CA – The Santa Clarita Valley Economic Development Corporation (SCVEDC) is pleased to announce that Ondre Seltzer, who has been serving as the Interim President & CEO since earlier this year, has been unanimously selected by the Board of Directors hiring committee to take on the role permanently. The decision comes after a thorough and competitive search process, underscoring the board’s confidence in Seltzer’s vision and leadership capabilities.

“Ondre has been a key driver in our economic development efforts, and his leadership during the interim period has been exceptional,” said SCVEDC Co-Chair John Shaffery, Founding Partner at Poole Shaffery. “His ability to build meaningful partnerships and navigate complex economic challenges makes him the ideal person to lead SCVEDC into the future. He’s consistently proven himself to be a dynamic leader who understands the unique needs of Santa Clarita Valley’s businesses and its community.”

Over the past few months, there have been some internal staffing changes for long-standing members of the SCVEDC. Our prior Director of Business Assistance for 7 years, Sue Arellano, retired back in May and was replaced by Dr. Jey Wagner. This September also saw our previous President and CEO Holly Schroeder making her own career transition after leading the SCVEDC for over 10 years. With Dr. Wagner taking over the President and CEO role for Holly, we are pleased to announce that veteran economic developer Ondré Seltzer will be taking over Wagner’s prior role as VP of Workforce and Economic Development.

Honoring Santa Clarita Valley's Largest Employers

The Santa Clarita Valley is a growing region with significant business opportunities, including available, state-of-the-art industrial and commercial buildings in master-planned developments. Despite the challenges of the last few years, 2023 was a successful year for many companies, and there were several attractions and expansions across our target industry clusters. Through our research for the Economic Outlook Forecast, we compiled the Santa Clarita Valley Largest Employer’s List illustrating marked growth in this past year.

SANTA CLARITA VALLEY, CA – After completion of a nationwide search, the Board of Directors for the Santa Clarita Valley Economic Development Corporation (SCVEDC) announced today the promotion of current Vice President of Workforce & Economic Development, Dr. Jey Wagner, to the role of President & CEO, as successor to Holly Schroeder. To ensure a seamless leadership transition, Schroeder will remain in her position through the organization’s premier event, Economic Outlook, on September 15, 2023. Schroeder is leaving to pursue new career opportunities at a local advanced manufacturer, DrinkPAK.

It's always bittersweet when you lose a coworker so beloved as Sue Arellano. For those who don't know her, Sue was the Director of Business Assistance here at the SCVEDC for over 7 years. Her impact on the businesses and the community in the Santa Clarita Valley during her tenure is impossible to quantify. Whether it was helping with permitting issues, tax credits and business incentives, or assisting with workforce and training solutions, she was always willing to fight alongside our businesses to achieve their goals. Sue has taken the next step in her life and retired after many years of hard work and commitment to our community, and we couldn't be happier for her. 

The trend of workforce shortages and a tight labor market has continued to be at the forefront of issues facing businesses. The Santa Clarita Valley has not been immune to the effects of this. We are however very ideally positioned to tackle this issue, and the SCVEDC has been collaborating extensively with a number of different organizations to find viable solutions for our local employers. Workforce development and training is more crucial than ever for economic developers engaging in business assistance and retention. To that end the EDC is excited to welcome Jey Wagner, Ed.D. as our Vice President of Workforce & Economic Development!

Honoring Santa Clarita Valley's Largest Employers

The Santa Clarita Valley is a growing region with significant opportunities for businesses including available, state-of-the-art industrial and commercial buildings in master planned developments. Despite the challenges of the last two years, 2022 was a successful year for many companies, and there were several attractions and expansions across our target industry clusters. Through our research for the Economic Outlook Forecast, we compiled the Santa Clarita Valley Largest Employer’s List illustrating some remarkable growth this past year.

City of Santa Clarita among 10 finalists for this year's "Most Business Friendly City" Award

It's been another banner year for Santa Clarita in terms of achievements and growth. Through a lot of hard work and collaboration, the citizens and businesses of SCV have really risen to meet the challenges of the last 18 months. As we heard from economist Dr. Mark Schniepp at our Economic Outlook Forecast, Santa Clarita is well on its way in terms of recovery. One of the biggest factors in growth and economic recovery is for your businesses to thrive. The City of Santa Clarita has once again been named as a finalist in the Los Angeles Economic Development Corporation's (LAEDC) award for "Most Business Friendly City" in LA County. As Los Angeles County's third largest city, Santa Clarita continues its commitment to maintain a healthy business environment for current and future companies, proactively promoting business-friendly programs and services--a critical factor in job creation. With award criteria including prioritizing and supporting business recovery, reinvention, growth and hiring throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, it's no surprise that we made the short list.

 The economic shutdown due to the COVID-19  pandemic coincided almost perfectly with the  Santa Clarita Valley Economic Development  Corporation’s previously scheduled, and ultimately  canceled, Economic Outlook on March 12, 2020.  With rapidly changing mandates and an uncertain  economic climate, we transitioned to hosting a September 2020 virtual event, with an additional virtual update in March of this year. Last Friday marked the highly anticipated return of the SCVEDC's Outlook to a hybrid in-person and virtual event, hosted at the Santa Clarita Performing Arts Center at College of the Canyons.

Santa Clarita ranks top 10 in safety, as well as the 4th most ambitious and business ready city in the nation.

Santa Clarita has recently been recognized as being one of the safest cities of its size in the country, and for being one of the most business ready. While it may not seem obvious at first, these two endorsements go hand in hand. They result from deliberate efforts to grow the number and quality of jobs in the Santa Clarita Valley in order to provide great opportunities for residents.

Celebrating Economic Development Month

Honoring Santa Clarita Valley's Largest Employers

The Santa Clarita Valley is a growing region with significant opportunities for businesses including available, state-of-the-art industrial and commercial buildings in master planned developments. Despite the challenges, 2020 was a successful year for many companies, and there were several attractions and expansions across our target industry clusters. Through our research for the Economic Outlook Forecast, we compiled the Santa Clarita Valley Largest Employer’s List illustrating some remarkable growth this past year.

Three Important Online Resources Offered by SCVEDC 

The Santa Clarita Valley Economic Development Corporation is an organization dedicated to attracting, retaining, and growing business opportunities for the Santa Clarita Valley. That mission is more important than ever. While most of our usual face-to-face meetings are temporarily on hold during the COVID-19 pandemic, SCVEDC has many online resources to help your company with a variety of issues you may face. Here are just a few free resources to help your business:

2018 – A Year of Growth and Development for the Santa Clarita Valley

The Santa Clarita Valley Economic Development Corporation’s overarching goals are to support the creation of high-paying jobs for our trained workforce, stimulate economic activity that grows the regional tax base, and strategically position the Santa Clarita Valley (SCV) and its businesses to better compete in the global economy.

SCVEDC Visits Hong Kong

As part of its ongoing effort to promote international investment into the Santa Clarita Valley (SCV), and to facilitate export opportunities for SCV companies, SCVEDC President & CEO Holly Schroeder recently traveled to Hong Kong. This was SCVEDC’s first return to Hong Kong since it joined then-Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich for a Chinese trade mission in 2014.

The Board of Directors of the Santa Clarita Valley Economic Development Corporation recently evaluated two LA County ballot measures that impose new taxes: Measure M, which adds a half-cent to the current sales tax for transportation improvements, and Measure A

On September 13, more than 70 business leaders in the Aerospace cluster attended the SCV Aerospace & Defense Coalition (ADC) Breakfast, which featured as its keynote speaker Kevin Mitchell, Vice President of Global Supply Chain at Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems.

Many people know the Santa Clarita Valley as the suburb for Los Angeles. But today, it is increasingly being called the “Silicon Suburb” according to a front page article in the latest issue of San Fernando Business Journal (September 5 – 18).

Each year, more than 12 billion dollars in Research & Development Tax Credits are funneled back to US businesses, and this is for the federal program alone.

Aerospace company Air Bolt Group of North Hollywood signed a 10-year lease in March for an 8,500 square foot building on Avenue Crocker in the Valencia Industrial Center. NAI Capital helped broker the deal. Additional terms of the lease were not disclosed. Air Bolt manufactures latches, struts, buts and bolts for commercial aircraft.

California Association for Local Economic Development (CALED) announced the roster of winners in economic development at its 36^th Annual Conference in San Francisco, and the Santa Clarita Valley Economic Development Corporation (SCVEDC) won two awards in two of the three categories.

Image 2000, after growing its print services company into one which harnesses hardware and software technology solutions, is relocating to Santa Clarita from Van Nuysand hopes to be open by May 1. First launched in 1992, the privately owned firm now grosses $30 million annually.

The Southern California aerospace industry is maintaining its competitiveness, according to a detailed report just released by the Los Angeles Economic Development Corporation in March.

Alfred E. Mann, after whom the Mann Biomedical Park in Santa Clarita Valley was named, died on February 25 at the age of 90. As an inventor, entrepreneur, investor, and philanthropist with a track record of prolific successes, he left a lasting legacy after creating 17 companies over the course of seven decades, amassing a personal fortune valued at more than $2 billion in 2007.

SCVEDC awarded Richard Photo Lab an Industry Cluster Attraction Incentive (ICAI) of $23,694 today. Richard Photo Lab relocated to the Santa Clarita Valley in 2015. As a company in the Digital Media & Entertainment cluster, the company was eligible for the incentive.

The Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz) announced that it is now accepting applications for the California Competes Tax Credit (CCTC). Growing companies in the Santa Clarita Valley are encouraged to apply.

CDS Doors, manufacturer of quality cooler and freezer glass doors, is relocating to the SCV after the first of the year. The company has acquired a 50,000 square foot building in Canyon Country on Sierra Highway.

I hear it every day – CA is a tough place to do business. Some would say the worst. Sometimes I think we just believe the stories and reputation without thinking about it analytically.

Data tells another story, or at least adds more perspective and insight than the oft-quoted soundbite.