Pursuits
California Highway Patrol Jobs Lose Star Power as Economy Soars
- Agency hunts recruits as unemployment reaches 6-year low
- If Ponch and Jon were around today, they might drive for Uber
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California Highway Patrol jobs, made cool by the 1970s television series “CHiPs,” were coveted as they came with high pay and great benefits along with the snappy uniforms and motorcycles. Now, the state’s economic comeback is so strong that recruits are hard to find.
Applications dropped to about 19,000 in 2014, from a peak of 55,000 during the height of the financial crisis in 2008 and 2009, according to the agency. Vacancies have grown 28 percent as the state’s unemployment rate dipped to 6.1 percent, the lowest in almost six years.