Industry Overview – Professional & Business Services
Trend
The growth potential of Professional and Business Services in Central California may be underestimated because many of these jobs are embedded within the region’s rapidly expanding healthcare, energy, manufacturing, logistics and agribusiness industries. As those sectors grow, they generate additional demand for accounting, engineering, information technology, cybersecurity, staffing, payroll, insurance administration, customer support and other specialized services.
The region is also well positioned to attract scalable corporate operations—including contact centers, business-process outsourcing, claims processing, shared-service centers and back-office functions—from higher-cost coastal markets. Central California offers comparatively affordable facilities, lower operating costs, a large and diverse labor force, bilingual talent and access to graduates from the region’s universities, community colleges and career-technical programs. The region also contains a substantial pool of experienced professionals, an estimated 84,000 people, who currently commute to Bay Area employment centers. Bringing more professional and corporate-service operations to the Valley would allow companies to remain close to California customers and headquarters while giving workers access to quality careers closer to home.
Major Companies
Business, Technology and Analytics Programs
- Fresno State Craig School of Business
Offers business administration, information systems, data analytics, artificial intelligence in business, accounting, finance, human resources and organizational management programs. - UC Merced Data Science and Analytics
Prepares graduates for data management, analytics, evaluation and technology-enabled business occupations. - CSU Bakersfield College of Business and Public Administration
Offers business administration, accounting, human resources, management information systems, marketing and related programs. - Stanislaus State College of Business Administration
Includes accounting, finance, computer information systems, human resources, operations management and graduate business education. - University of the Pacific Eberhardt School of Business
Offers accounting, management, human resources and business analytics, including a STEM-designated Master of Science in Business Analytics. - San Joaquin Delta College Business Information Management
Provides training in office technology, business software, administrative support and office management.
Central California offers the skilled, bilingual workforce, lower operating costs and proximity to California’s major markets that growing business-service operations need to scale.
Wages
