County’s ’94 Jobless Rate Lowest in 3 Years : Labor: The report shows 7.9% unemployment, down nearly a percentage point from 1992 and 1993 figures.

Led by jobs in retail and service industries, unemployment in Ventura County during 1994 reached its lowest rate in more than three years, the state Employment Development Department reported Friday.

“I haven’t seen a report this good in 40 months,” said Mark Schniepp, a UC Santa Barbara economist who keeps a close watch on the county’s economy.

Unemployment in Ventura County stood at 7.9% for the year, down nearly a full percentage point from the previous two years. In 1991, the county’s unemployment rate was 7.3%. The rate was 8.8% in both 1992 and 1993.

The rate for the entire state in 1994 was 8.6%.

But some of last year’s gains were lost in January of this year, when the county’s rate rose to 8.2%. That rate, however, was better than January, 1994, when unemployment stood at 9.6%.

January historically has one of the highest monthly unemployment rates, as seasonal workers are laid off and construction jobs slowed during inclement weather.

Economists, government officials and business leaders looked upon the latest numbers favorably. Thousand Oaks-area retailers helped lead the way in retail sales in 1994, with taxable receipts up more than 17% over the previous year.

“I’m not ready to break into ‘Happy Days Are Here Again’ but I think things are slowly coming back,” said Steve Rubenstein, president of the Conejo Valley Chamber of Commerce.

But the high-paying, high-technology jobs lost over the past four years have not returned to the county, and most of the new jobs are low-paying. About 400 high-technology jobs were lost between January, 1994, and January, 1995, the report showed. Other traditionally high-paying jobs in manufacturing and finance also posted losses, said Sonja Speer, a labor-market analyst with the state employment department.

Overall, however, 2,800 more jobs were available in January of this year than in January, 1994, Speer said.

In January, 1,500 more retail jobs existed than during the same period last year, and 2,900 service-industry jobs were created during the year.

“Some of those service jobs are high-paying,” Schniepp said. Included in the service sector are attorneys, accountants and computer workers, Speer said.

The declining unemployment rate was just the latest in a series of indicators released recently that pointed to healthier economic times in Ventura County.

Housing sales jumped 12% last year, while retailers reported doing 10% better in 1994 than in 1993. Motel and hotel owners also reported significant gains, while vacant office space in the county dropped to 15.4% last year from 19.3% the year before, prompting Schniepp to predict that some commercial building will occur in the county this year.

Schniepp last week released a mostly upbeat annual economic forecast for the county. But government regulation remained the one dark spot in his otherwise bright forecast.

Schniepp said his studies show that California in general and Ventura County in particular are expensive places in which to do business, which could stymie job growth.

“Companies are thinking twice about hiring full-time employees because of all the regulations,” Rubenstein said. “When times were good, they didn’t mind paying so much. But those days are long gone.”

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Ventura County Jobless Rate Monthly figures, 1992-1994 January 1995: 8.2% Source: State Employment Development Department