JOB SHIFTS: Oil and agriculture used to...

JOB SHIFTS: Oil and agriculture used to dominate Ventura County’s economy, but the job market has shifted to the service sector. At the state employment office in Simi Valley, 50 of the 170 jobs on file are service positions, mostly restaurant and janitor jobs. . . . Problem is, many east county job-seekers are engineers, accountants and other professionals, said office supervisor Pat Baldoni. “That’s always the problem in this area. The jobs don’t match the people.”

What We Do

How Ventura County’s work force is deployed: Services, incl. health: 80,584 Wholesale/retail trade: 66,143 Manufacturing: 56,114 Finance/real estate: 27,482 Construction: 25,300 Education: 22,298 Agriculture/fishing/oil: 20,485 Public administration: 19,490 Transport/communication: 18,876

Source: 1990 U.S. Census

CAT LICENSES: It’s been raining more cats than dogs at the Ventura County Animal Control’s shelter in Camarillo. Last year, the shelter picked up 9,481 stray cats, up about 800 since 1987. Meanwhile, dog pickups fell by 2,900, to 8,900 last year. . . . Director Kathy Jenks hailed Moorpark’s plans to impose cat licensing (B5). “People think they’re disposable, that they can fend for themselves,” she said. . . . Licenses help the shelter hook up 25% of the stray dogs with their owners. For cats, the reunion rate is 2%.

CONSUL CONSULTED: Hurricane Calvin’s rampage through southern Mexico (A14) prompted more than a dozen inquiries at the Mexican consulate in Oxnard. Consul Luis Humberto Ramirez said most callers were worried about friends and relatives traveling in Acapulco and Puerto Vallarta. The deadly storm missed the states of Michoacan and Jalisco, the ancestral home of many Ventura County residents. . . . The Oxnard mission is the only consulate in the county.

PARADE SCOOP: Here’s something new for your trophy case. The organizers of September’s Simi Valley Days Parade will present awards to the people who best entertain spectators while cleaning up after equestrian entries. Parade Chairwoman Jere Sinclair said she dreamed up the “Sooper Scooper” competition after watching the crowd-pleasing antics of last year’s cleanup workers. . . . Hint: Goofy clothes will give you a leg up, she said. “A bride and groom would be hysterical.”