Economy
Fresno serves as the economic hub of Fresno County and California’s Central Valley. While the unincorporated area and rural cities surrounding Fresno remain predominantly tied to large-scale agricultural production, urban/suburban Fresno has undergone significant economic transformation in recent years.
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.
(Source: Wikipedia.org)
