Economic recovery throughout California has been an uneven experience. Unemployment rates for coastal communities have dipped, many below the state’s unemployment rate of 8.3 percent.

It’s a much different story when you travel inland where unemployment rates remains in the double digits.

Riverside and San Bernardino Counties, also known as the Inland Empire, are no different with 9.6 percent and 9.1 percent unemployment rates, respectively.

The University of Riverside’s School of Medicine aims to change all of that by advancing the economic competitiveness of the region, bringing much-needed jobs in the health care industry.

Thanks to a big effort by new Assemblyman Jose Medina, the School of Medicine received state funding to train the region’s workforce for jobs available now and improve the doctor-resident ratio.

California Forward’s Cheryl Getuiza reports.

Originally published on CAeconomy.