THE TIMES POLL : Recession, Jobs Are County’s Big Worries : Surveys: Unlike those questioned in Los Angeles, few area residents mention crime as their major concern.

Ventura County residents cited the economy and education most often when asked to identify the most important problems facing their community today, while other Southern Californians emphasized crime and drugs, according to a Times Poll.

Twenty-five percent of county residents questioned mentioned either unemployment or the recession as the biggest problems, compared to only 5% in Los Angeles and 9% regionwide, according to the survey.

The survey results come as state officials report that Ventura County’s unemployment rate hit 8.2% in February, the highest level in six years, surpassing the national rate of 8.1%. The February unemployment rate is the most recent available.

The poll of Ventura County residents, supervised by Times Poll Director John Brennan, was conducted May 5. The poll, which surveyed 591 Ventura County residents, has a margin of error of five percentage points in either direction.

Both the Los Angeles and Southern California portions of the poll were conducted in April before the rioting that occurred following the verdicts in the Rodney G. King beating case, Brennan said.

Of those questioned in Los Angeles, 51% most often mentioned crime and gangs as the biggest problems facing their community, compared with 35% regionwide. In comparison, only 9% of Ventura County residents consistently mentioned crime as their major concern.

“This is not an indication that Ventura County residents are not concerned about crime,” Brennan said. “It’s just that very few named crime as the most important problem.”

The reason residents are more concerned about the economy than crime is because the region has continually had one of the lowest crime rates of any urban county in the western United States, county officials said. Earlier this month, FBI statistics showed that Thousand Oaks and Simi Valley were the safest large cities in the country in 1991, they said.

“It’s just a total contrast to Los Angeles County,” said Sheriff John Gillespie. “The people here feel safer in their homes, in the streets and in schools. As a result of that, the law enforcement officers here are almost heroes.”

Indeed, an overwhelming majority of Ventura County residents polled--84%--said they approve of the way law enforcement services are administered in their county. When asked if they thought the criminal justice system in their community is basically sound, 67% said yes, contrasted with only 31% in Los Angeles.

“I think the public is supportive of the system because they believe in it,” said County Dist. Atty. Michael D. Bradbury. “I think we have tough prosecutors and good judges.”

But Bradbury warned that if his department is forced to undergo budget cuts next fiscal year that result in layoffs, it would have a dramatic impact on the county’s criminal justice system. He said his department underwent an $800,000 cutback this year that led to several positions being eliminated.

“If they continue to cut our budget, we’re going to have the same problems here as they do in Los Angeles,” he said. “And the public’s confidence in the system is going to drop.”

The Board of Supervisors’ budget committee has directed all departments, including Bradbury’s, to prepare plans detailing impacts of a possible 2.5% to 5% budget cut. The board will consider possible budget cuts at its meeting on Tuesday.

Officials said they had no choice but to request the budget-reduction plans because the state is facing a potential $9-billion to $10-billion shortfall.

Bradbury said he will not comply.

“The board is just going to have to start setting priorities,” he said.

Meanwhile, concern over the economy continues to mount as the county unemployment rate rises.

A total of 30,600 county residents were listed as unemployed in February, contrasted with 29,700 in January, officials said. Although it surpassed the national figure, the county’s jobless rate remained lower than the 9.2% statewide rate.

Job listings continue to be scarce at the state’s south Oxnard unemployment center, said Avelina Villalobos, office manager. Of the 74 jobs listed, she said only about three pay over $25,000 a year.

Villalobos said the county will have to be more aggressive in seeking out new businesses to locate here. She pointed out that the area’s aerospace industry is continuing to be hurt by defense cutbacks.

“And I don’t see a turnaround just yet,” Villalobos said.

Last month, Abex Aerospace of Oxnard notified all 630 of its employees of a possible mass layoff and plant closure. Also, Litton Industries announced it will relocate its Moorpark navigation-equipment plant to Woodland Hills, which will result in 600 jobs being shifted to the new facility.

Northrop Corp. closed its Newbury Park missile plant last September. It once employed 2,000 people.

“Those are the kinds of jobs that we’re not ever going to get back,” said Dana Weber Young, president of the Ventura County Economic Development Assn.

Young said that is why her group is working with the county’s recently formed Economic Vitality Committee to streamline regulations on construction and permits as a way to retain existing businesses and to attract new ones.

“Our main goal is to change attitudes,” said Young, whose nonprofit group represents 450 businesses and 35,000 employees countywide.

“The perception now is that it’s difficult to do business in Ventura County,” she said.

“When people talk about the county, they talk about no growth and how hard it is for businesses to expand,” Young said. “We hope to change the perception so that when people say, ‘Ventura County,’ they will say, ‘That’s a place that likes business.’ ”

The Ventura County poll found that the second area of concern cited most often by residents--9%--was education, which contrasted with 3% in Los Angeles and 4% regionwide.

On the flip side, drugs were the second biggest problem cited most often by Los Angeles residents--6%--and also by Southern Californians--14%. Only 2% of Ventura County residents cited drugs as the community’s most important problem.

“Up here, for people to place such a high concern on education is a compliment,” said James F. Cowan, Ventura County superintendent of schools.

“I think people list it highly because they care about education,” Cowan said. “They care about what’s going to happen with the declining state budget . . . and they can’t expect education not to be impacted.”

Ventura County residents cited gangs and growth as the next biggest problems facing their community, followed by overall crime and the reaction to the verdicts in the Rodney G. King beating trial.

How the Poll Was Conducted

The Times Poll interviewed 591 Ventura County adults by telephone May 5. Telephone numbers were chosen from a list of all exchanges in the county. Random-digit dialing techniques were used to ensure that listed and unlisted numbers were contacted. Results were weighted slightly to conform with census figures for sex, race, age and household size. The margin of sampling error for percentages based on the total sample is plus or minus five percentage points. Poll results can also be influenced by other factors such as question wording and the order in which questions are presented.

THE TIMES POLL: Differing Views

Here is a comparison of opinions expressed by residents in Ventura County and in the city of Los Angeles, as well as Southern California as a whole (including the previous two groups).

What is the most important problem facing your community today?

Ventura Los Southern County Angeles California Unemployment 15% 3% 6% Recession 10% 2% 3% Education 9% 3% 4% Gangs 5% 32% 19% Growth 5% 3% 6% Crime 4% 19% 16% King verdict 4% -- -- Homeless 3% 2% 3% Racism 3% -- -- Drugs 2% 6% 14% Housing 2% 1% 1% Environment 2% -- 2% Graffiti 1% 3% 1% Traffic 1% 1% 2% Job/Opportunities 1% -- 1% Taxes 1% -- 1% Drought 1% -- -- Health 1% -- -- Government 1% -- -- Police -- -- 1% Transportation -- -- -- Other 11% 5% 9% No problem 12% 7% 5%

-- Denotes a negligible response or no answer.

NOTE: The Times Poll interviewed 591 residents of Ventura County, with a margin of error of five percentage points in either direction. In addition, 327 people in the city of Los Angeles were interviewed, with a margin of error of six percentage points in either direction, with 2,619 interviewed regionwide, with a margin of error of two percentage points either way.