County’s Jobless Rate for March Drops to Lowest Level in 5 Years

Led by gains in the service sector, the Ventura County jobless rate dropped last month to its lowest rate since the pre-recessionary days of 1990.

One economist, however, attributed the decrease in part to a smaller work force.

According to the state Employment Development Department, 6% of the Ventura County work force was unemployed in March, down from 6.7% recorded the previous month.

The last time the unemployment rate was lower was in October, 1990, when the rate stood at 5.8%.

“That certainly was way back when,” department spokeswoman Sonja Speer said.

The unemployment rate in March, 1994, was 7.3%.

Speer said jobs in the retail and service sectors posted the biggest gains.

The service industry “has shown growth when other sectors haven’t,” she said. Ventura County has added 400 workers to its payroll since March, 1994, while 100 city government jobs were created during the same time.

The opening of the Ventura County Jail in Santa Paula added 116 employees, including 53 sheriff’s deputies to the county work force, Sgt. Steve Decesari said.

But UC Santa Barbara economist Mark Schniepp warned against celebrating the end of hard economic times.

“Less people are working than this time last year,” he said, pointing out that 700 jobs have been lost since March, 1994.

He said the county’s job force has shrunk in the past year, with many frustrated workers heading for greener pastures out of state. Disheartened workers who stop looking for work are dropped from the labor force and affect the unemployment rate, Schniepp said.

About 6,400 Ventura County workers have left the labor force since March of 1994, the report said.

“There are a huge number of workers who are apparently no longer in Ventura County,” he said.

According to the report, 358,400 people out of a labor force of 381,400 were working in Ventura County last month. This time last year, 359,100 people out of a labor force of 387,500 had jobs.

“This is not a glowing report,” Schniepp said.

Still, Schniepp said the 1,800 service jobs created since March, 1994, pay more than the county’s average salary. Service jobs include accountants, lawyers, automobile mechanics and the entire health-care field.

The average annual salary in that sector was about $30,000 a year, Schniepp said.

“It’s good to see jobs that are above the average salary,” he said. “It helps spread the wealth around.”

But the continued exodus of high-paying, high-technology jobs related to the defense industry continued, the report showed. The federal government cut 800 jobs in the past year, mostly related to defense spending, while high-tech manufacturing also lost 800 jobs.

“We certainly have lost a significant amount of businesses out of the county,” said Wally Boeck, founder of the Ventura County Business Incubator.

Boeck’s Camarillo-based program is designed to help establish fledgling high-technology companies by helping them obtain financial, technological and intellectual assistance.

“I fear there are a lot disheartened workers out there,” he said. “There are still plenty of people out there without any work.”

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Ventura County Jobless Rate Monthly Figures, 1992- 1995 March, 1995: 6.0% *

Annual Rates 1994: 7.9% 1993: 8.8% 1992: 8.8% Sources: State Employment Development Department