May Jobless Rate 3.8%, Lowest Level in 16 Years
Ventura County’s unemployment rate dropped to its lowest level in 16 years in May, down to 3.8% of the work force in part because of the creation of more than 1,800 jobs.
A frenzied job market, fueled by a strong economy, showed solid employment gains in key industries such as construction, manufacturing and retail trade, the state Employment Development Department reported Friday.
“It’s good to see that number getting down so low,” said Jack Kyser, chief economist for the Los Angeles Economic Development Corp. “It’s a sign that the economy locally and statewide is charging along and making important gains in diversification and expansion.”
The jobless rate fell from 4.2% in April and continued an eight-year decline since peaking in 1991 at nearly 10%.
The last time the county’s unemployment rate was so low was in the spring of 1983 when the rate stood at 3.7%.
Construction led job growth last month, adding more than 800 positions. Retail trade also grew, with employers bolstering their payrolls by about 400.
And, in a sign of the county’s continued economic resilience, the manufacturing sector overcame lingering stagnation to add about 200 positions last month.
Other employment sectors that experienced growth in May include agriculture, which added 400 positions, and government, transportation and public utilities, up a total of about 100 positions.
Other sectors, however, recorded a decline in May.
The finance, insurance and real estate sectors all cut their payrolls slightly last month, each by about 200 jobs.
According to economists, those sectors that showed the most growth last month should remain leaders through at least the next six months.
According to Dee Zinke, executive officer for the Building Industry Assn. of Southern California, industry payrolls would have been much higher had there been a more qualified labor pool.
“We’re struggling with a severe labor shortage right now,” she said. “Builders right now can’t find enough blue-collar and white-collar workers, so they’re having to recruit people from other places in the country.”
With about 381,000 employed residents, Ventura County ranks 14th among the state’s 58 counties in employment.
The local rate also falls well below the state average of 4.9% and national average of 4% with just 15,200 unemployed people.
In the more telling year-to-year comparisons, unemployment dropped more than one-half a percentage point from 4.5% in May 1998.
Altogether, more than 9,700 jobs have been created between May 1998 and last month.
Most of those positions, about 9,600, were created in nonfarm industries.
The service industry led yearly job growth with the creation of about 3,200 jobs, followed closely by construction with 3,000 jobs.
Government added about 1,900 jobs and trade was up by about 1,300.
Although May’s strikingly low unemployment rate was testimony to the area’s strong economy, Kyser said it should also be regarded as a warning.
“Ventura County’s getting down to a level we’d call full employment, which can be good and bad,” he said. “For people looking for jobs it’s great because there are going to be a lot of opportunities available they wouldn’t have otherwise had, but for employers this number is kind of troubling.”
That means the local labor pool is so small that employers may have to look harder and pay more for qualified workers, he said.
Companies planning substantial expansions may have to recruit from other areas, which can mean significantly higher costs and longer expansion initiatives.
“It’s a double-edged sword here,” Kyser said. “For some it may become a problem and for some it probably already is, but in the end a 3.8% unemployment rate is good . . . It says there’s a lot going on in the area.”
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Ventura County Jobless Rate
May 1999: 3.8%
Source: California Employment Development Department
