Unemployment Rate in County Increases to 6.9% in January

Unemployment in Ventura County increased in January, a rise caused in part by a loss of temporary holiday jobs, labor officials said Friday.

The county’s unemployment rate was 6.9% in January contrasted with 6.4% in December, according to a report released by the state Employment Development Department.

But analysts said the long-term trend in Ventura County is toward lower unemployment. In January 1996, the county’s unemployment rate was 7.6%. Overall, the county has gained about 5,400 jobs over the past year, bringing total employment to 254,300.

The state report indicates the loss of 1,700 retail jobs in January. Job loss in the retail trade is typical at the beginning of the year, said Carla Barnes, a state labor analyst.

“The holiday season is over, and the retail stores lay off their seasonal help,” she said.

UC Santa Barbara economist Mark Schniepp, who tracks Ventura County’s economy, said Friday’s report contains a number of positive indicators for local job seekers.

Citing the addition of about 1,700 jobs in the business-services sector during the past year, Schniepp said local employment recovery is “occurring in some of the higher-paying” industries.

In January, the county’s economy added about 100 jobs in the finance, insurance and real estate sectors, and another 200 in health services.

“The first look at 1997 bodes well for a strong economy this year,” said Schniepp, who predicts unemployment in Ventura County this year will fall to 6.3%.

Ali Akbari, director of the Economic Research Center at Cal Lutheran University, said the new state data confirms the continuation of a local job expansion that began about three years ago.

“That’s certainly welcome news,” Akbari said.

There are warning signs, however. For instance, Akbari said Friday’s report shows the number of county jobs with the Department of Defense declined from 7,600 to 7,200 during the past year. He expects the shrinking of local military bases to continue.

“There’s no harbinger of an increased defense budget,” Akbari said.

Agricultural jobs in Ventura County numbered 12,500 in January.

November, December and January are typically slow months for farmers, said Rex Laird, executive director of the Ventura County Farm Bureau. Laird said January’s rains may have held the number of farm jobs down, but agricultural employment is already increasing as winter nears an end.

“The lemon harvest is in full swing, avocados are starting to pick up and strawberries are starting,” Laird said.