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Data: U.S. Energy Information Administration. Chart: Axios Visuals

California's average electricity customer experienced 5.4 hours of power outages in 2021 — up from 4.5 in 2020, and 1.7 in 2013.

Driving the news: That's per the latest available data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, an agency within the Department of Energy.

Why it matters: Electricity outages stand to become more common as extreme weather events — many driven by climate change — wreak havoc on the country's aging power infrastructure.

While some outages are short-lived annoyances, others are widespread events. Either can become deadly for those who depend on medical equipment or for those who lose heating or air conditioning during periods of extreme temperatures.

Zoom in: This year's historic storms resulted in widespread power outages throughout the Bay Area.

In March, high winds resulted in more than 180,000 Bay Area PG&E customers losing power.

The big picture: The average U.S. electricity customer experienced 7.3 hours of power outages in 2021 — down from 8.2 hours in 2020, but more than double 2013's rate.

Between the lines: San Francisco made a bid to purchase PG&E's assets in the city for $2.5 billion back in 2019, arguing the city could provide a service that is more affordable, more reliable, and safer.

This past May, the city reiterated its desire to purchase the power provider's assets amid the power outages earlier this year.

​"After many decades, it is time for the City to gain the energy independence that comes from owning its local grid," city officials, including Mayor London Breed and City Attorney David Chiu, wrote in a letter to PG&E.

In a response letter provided to Axios, PG&E CEO Patricia Poppe said the company doesn't believe San Francisco's "attempt to take our assets benefits our customers," adding a city takeover would "detrimentally affect customers" both within and outside San Francisco. 

Yes, but: San Francisco is still pursuing the acquisition and has asked the California Public Utilities Commission to determine the value of PG&E's assets, Alex Barrett-Shorter, a spokesperson with the city attorney's office, told Axios via email. 

What to watch: Efforts to modernize the grid and reduce outages are underway.

In July, California received $67.5 million from the Department of Energy to work toward making its power grid more resilient.

"As once-in-a-generation weather events test the resiliency of our grid, these life-saving investments will ensure families — especially ones in disadvantaged communities — are not left in the dark," U.S. Senator Alex Padilla said in a statement.

California power outage hours trending upward

California's average electricity customer experienced 5.4 hours of power outages in 2021 — up from 1.7 in 2013.

Electricity

California&#x27;s average electricity customer experienced 5.4 hours of power outages in 2021 — up from 4.5 in 2020, and 1.7 in 2013.Driving the news: That&#x27;s per the latest available data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, an agency within the Department of Energy.

News

Climate

U.S. Census Bureau; Map: Kavya Beheraj/Axios

The median household income across the San Francisco metro area fell 3.3% between 2019 and 2022, per new Census Bureau data.

Why it matters: The latest numbers reflect the pandemic's long-lasting impact on the economy. 

By the numbers: In 2022, the median income in the San Francisco Bay Area was $128,151, compared with $132,586 in 2019, adjusted for inflation.

Nationally, median household income fell 1.6% between 2019 and 2022, adjusted for inflation, Axios' Alex Fitzpatrick and Kavya Beheraj report.

Zoom in: The share of San Francisco area residents making between $50,000 and $75,000 annually decreased from 11% to 10% between 2019 and 2022, while the share making more than $100,000 increased from 56% to 59%.

Details: The new data comes by way of the Census Bureau's 2022 American Community Survey (ACS) one-year estimates, released last week.

The ACS is one of the best resources available for a regularly published, quantified look at myriad facets of American life, down to a remarkably local level.

The intrigue: The COVID-19 pandemic "changed the geography of where money is made in the United States," Axios Macro's Neil Irwin reports, as many higher-income Americans decamped from cities like New York and San Francisco to "rural and exurban places and popular vacation destinations."

Of note: Because the latest ACS release is based on 2022 data, it's capturing what some call the "late pandemic era," when many elements of normality returned but the pandemic still loomed in the background, affecting many aspects of life.

San Francisco Bay Area median income dipped from pre-pandemic

The latest numbers reflect the pandemic's long-lasting impact on the economy.

Census

The median household income across the San Francisco metro area fell 3.3% between 2019 and 2022, per new Census Bureau data.Why it matters: The latest numbers reflect the pandemic&#x27;s long-lasting impact on the economy.

Data: U.S. Census Bureau; Note: Includes women ages 16 to 50; Chart: Kavya Beheraj/Axios

The percentage of San Francisco metro area women who recently gave birth and remain part of the workforce is growing, per new U.S. Census Bureau data — though not at a steady pace.

Why it matters: Motherhood often knocks women out of the labor force, at least temporarily — slowing their career and earnings growth and contributing to the gender pay gap.

By the numbers: Almost 72% of San Francisco metro area women who gave birth in the previous 12 months were in the labor force as of 2022, according to data from the latest American Community Survey.

That's compared with about 70% in 2021, and nearly 64% in 2010.

Zoom in: Though the tech industry is considered to have some of the best employee benefits, motherhood has long been seen as a barrier to career success.

Already facing the glass ceiling, many women in engineering leave the profession entirely after having children due to heavy workloads and travel expectations, according to a 2017 analysis published in the Frontiers in Psychology journal.

In 2016, the Bay's birthrate dropped to its lowest since the 1980s, research organization Joint Venture Silicon Valley found.

In 2013, former Facebook executive Sheryl Sandberg co-wrote the book "Lean In" in a bid to empower mothers while calling on companies to rectify stigma, sexism and demanding workplace policies.

For women in less well-paying industries, the problems are compounded. Roughly 4 in 10 low-wage workers in California are the sole earners in their families, the UC Berkeley Labor Center notes.

The big picture: Nationally, the percentage of women who recently gave birth and remained in the workforce reached a decade-plus high-water mark last year.

66.6% of U.S. women who gave birth in the previous 12 months were in the labor force as of 2022.

That's barely higher than the 66.5% in 2021, but a significant jump from the 61.6% in 2010.

Between the lines: Remote and flexible work schedules have made it possible — but not necessarily easier — to juggle both parenting and career.

Of note: The cost of child care has skyrocketed in part due to a lack of supply and low caretaker pay.

As care gets more expensive, more and more families are put in the difficult position of deciding whether it makes sense for both parents to work or for one to stay home and watch the kids.

Often, it's mothers who wind up staying home — in part because they likely make less to begin with.

Vital pandemic-era federal funding for child care centers is also about to dry up, likely deepening the affordability crisis.

What we're watching: Whether this trend continues into the fully post-pandemic years.

Some employers are trying to get workers back to the office, but are finding mixed success, as many employees embrace a lifestyle that affords better flexibility — whether to raise a family, pursue a hobby or simply avoid a stressful commute.

Bay Area sees growth in new moms' workforce participation rate

Motherhood has long been seen as a barrier to career success.

Motherhood

The percentage of San Francisco metro area women who recently gave birth and remain part of the workforce is growing, per new U.S. Census Bureau data — though not at a steady pace.Why it matters: Motherhood often knocks women out of the labor force, at least temporarily — slowing their career and earnings growth and contributing to the gender pay gap.

Business

More than 1,200 new businesses were registered on Yelp across the San Francisco Bay Area in July, according to the company, up 4.7% year over year.

Why it matters: New business openings are a good measure of economic sentiment — people generally don't take the risk of spinning up a new venture if they foresee economic peril ahead.

The big picture: Business openings nationwide have exceeded 2019 levels every month this year, Axios Closer's Hope King reports, thanks to a surge in travel, events and get-togethers.

Meanwhile, California is among the five states that have seen the largest total number of new business openings so far this year.

Zoom in: In San Francisco, excitement around the opening of a new Ikea downtown reverberated throughout the city last month, with hopes that the presence of the Swedish retailer and its accompanying mall will help to revitalize the struggling downtown area.

Driving the news: Nationally, new listings of shops and services on Yelp are on track to beat 2022's all-time high, according to a recent company report.

Nearly 484,000 new businesses popped up on the platform from January through July this year, compared with about 389,000 over the same time period last year.

That's a roughly 25% increase year over year, and a 46% increase from the same period in 2019.

Openings increased across every category, driven by hotels and travel (up 39% over 2022), home services (up 37%), auto (up 27%), event services (up 27%) and local services (up 23%).

What to watch: How long economic optimism lasts, and whether momentum continues as banking conditions tighten for small businesses.

Of note: Yelp business openings refer to new business listings on the platform in a given time frame.

Business owners or Yelp users can add listings.

New business data may lag due to the time taken to report and verify openings, Yelp says.

New business openings on the rise in Bay Area

New business openings are a good measure of economic sentiment.

City economy

More than 1,200 new businesses were registered on Yelp across the San Francisco Bay Area in July, according to the company, up 4.7% year over year.Why it matters: New business openings are a good measure of economic sentiment — people generally don&#x27;t take the risk of spinning up a new venture if they foresee economic peril ahead.

Data: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services; Chart: Jacque Schrag and Alice Feng/Axios

The median time Californians spent in emergency rooms was three hours last year — the latest in a steady increase from pre-pandemic times, according to the latest Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services data.

Why it matters: Time spent in the ER is a key metric for tracking hospital performance. Increasing ER visit times is an indication that a hospital may be understaffed relative to a community's need or is facing other issues.

Zoom in: California's overall time increased slightly from 2 hours, 49 minutes in 2021 and 2 hours, 43 minutes in 2014.

It's also 20 minutes longer than the median of 2 hours, 40 minutes spent in emergency rooms nationwide in 2022 — a number that's been steadily rising in recent years. 

Of note: This data, which covers over 4,000 Medicare-certified hospitals nationwide, captures the length of patients' entire ER visits, not just the time spent waiting to be first seen.

Context: In the last decade, emergency departments in California have failed to keep pace with an increase in need.

Between 2011 and 2021, the number of emergency departments decreased by nearly 4% while visits rose by 7.4%, according to a June study by researchers at the University of California, San Francisco.

The number of serious injury illness visits also jumped by nearly 68% in that period.

The findings reflect "what many health care workers already know to be true: the burden on emergency departments across the state of California has intensified," lead author Renee Y. Hsia, a UCSF professor of emergency medicine, said in a news release.

State of play: Many patients have had to wait days for care while ER doctors scramble to find specialists and open beds.

UCSF, for example, turned down 41% of the transfer requests it received in the past year, KQED reported in June.

Patients are now taking to platforms like the San Francisco-based Dignity Health to book ER appointments online and minimize long waits in a crowded environment.

Fears of getting stuck at the ER for hours on end have also led to a boom in urgent care and retail health clinics.

The big picture: The steady nationwide increase in the length of ER visits comes as hospitals face widespread staffing shortages.

ERs are also struggling with a lack of resources to handle a surge in youth mental health-related visits.

Duration of ER visits in California continues to increase

New data shows how emergency departments have failed to keep pace with need across the state.

Hospitals

The median time Californians spent in emergency rooms was three hours last year — the latest in a steady increase from pre-pandemic times, according to the latest Centers for Medicare &amp; Medicaid Services <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="data" data-vars-click-url="https://data.cms.gov/provider-data/dataset/apyc-v239" data-vars-content-id="aed6d968-5d5e-4767-b428-2d266d123971" data-vars-headline="Duration of ER visits in California continues to increase" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://data.cms.gov/provider-data/dataset/apyc-v239" target="_blank">data</a>.Why it matters: Time spent in the ER is a key metric for tracking hospital performance. Increasing ER visit times is an indication that a hospital may be understaffed relative to a community&#x27;s need or is facing other issues.

Alex Fitzpatrick

Featured stories

Bay Area sees growth in new moms' workforce participation rate

San Francisco Bay Area median income dipped from pre-pandemic

Duration of ER visits in California continues to increase

New business openings on the rise in Bay Area

California power outage hours trending upward