California

Several possibilities to explain why California hasn’t been doing so well:

1. Fed hasn’t lowered rates yet. This means that tech companies have continued to shed jobs. It leads to startups dying because they can’t get the next round of funding. And it means that new housing isn’t getting built.

2. Larger companies have also begun to enforce return to office policies, meaning that employees are given a specified amount of time to move closer to the employer or their role is eliminated.

3. AI has been used as a reason to reduce headcount, but not so much as a reason to create new jobs and new companies.

4. Consolidation of companies and capabilities has continued at a breathtaking rate.