High-Tech Jobs Fueling Growth in East County

Fueled by the high-tech industry, east Ventura County’s economy has grown by 14% this year, one of the fastest rates in the state, an economic forecaster said Thursday.

Things are so good that “nothing could go wrong,” according to Bill Watkins, executive director of the UC Santa Barbara Economic Forecast Project.

Watkins, who made his predictions to about 100 regional, city and business officials at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library during the first East County Economic Forecast Seminar, said the area’s economy will flourish over the next five years.

He cited Amgen, the world’s largest biotechnology company, as the main economic engine for the east county. The company has about 6,000 employees at its Thousand Oaks office, two-thirds of whom live in the area, Amgen spokesman David Kaye said.

Another speaker, Rajeev Dhawan, director of econometric forecasting for UCLA’s Anderson School of Business, called “the L. A. County / Ventura border . . . the high-tech border. You’ve got high-tech money over here now. It isn’t surprising when I see those numbers.”

Job and income growth has steadily increased over the last five years in Thousand Oaks and Simi Valley, Watkins said, and the two cities have rapidly become one economic region.

Economic statistics for the two cities show their similarities, Watkins said.

Thousand Oaks has a $77,680 median household income, a 2.9% unemployment rate and median property value of $296,777, according to the forecast. Simi Valley’s figures are $72,326, 3.2% and $242,884, respectively. And both cities have had strong income growth and about 10% job growth in the past year, Watkins said.

UC Santa Barbara already performs economic forecasts for the county but added a partnership with Cal Lutheran University to prepare an east county study after business owners asked for one, Watkins said.

The east county has closer ties to Los Angeles County than the rest of Ventura County, Watkins said, and the various jobs there are different.

Thousand Oaks and Simi Valley also share similarities in housing, Watkins said. Both are reaching their limits for building, and there are concerns about the availability of affordable housing.

But he said he didn’t think that would hamper future growth. Those who work in the east county are willing to drive long distances to work, which could limit the effects of the high housing costs.

The cities’ closeness to Los Angeles County helps make that possible, said Gary Wartik, Thousand Oaks manager of economic development.

“When companies transfer out here, the point of housing is less of a problem because those people will commute,” he said. “If the company goes from Van Nuys to Oxnard, that may break the camel’s back in terms of the trip the employees want to take. Thousand Oaks may be a [trip], but it’s not as bad.”

But Wartik said worker-available housing is an issue in Thousand Oaks. Simi Valley City Manager Mike Sedell echoed those sentiments.

“It’s a balancing act we’re always looking at,” he said.

Overall, the east county is in good shape, officials said.

“Ventura County is healthier than California, and we all acknowledge that California is generally healthy,” said Len Linton, director of California Oaks State Bank in Thousand Oaks.