Farm Jobs Contribute to 3.9% Unemployment Rate

Ventura County defied the nation’s faltering economy last month to hit a 3.9% unemployment rate, better than last year and the previous month, and lower than both the state’s and country’s jobless rates.

Despite a slowing national high-tech sector, a plummeting stock market and a home-grown state energy crisis, the county’s diverse high-technology sector kept local job growth booming, economists said.

There were 298,700 people employed in Ventura County in February, up 3,500--many of them seasonal jobs in agriculture--from the previous month. The more telling year-to-year rate of new job creation was at a stellar 4.1%, with the manufacturing and service industries showing strong growth.

The nationwide unemployment rate was 4.6%, and the state jobless level was 4.9%.

“The economic indicators keep coming out as robust as ever,” said Mark Schniepp, who studies Ventura County as director of the Center for Regional Economic Research in Santa Barbara. “It’s a testament to the diversity with which the economy has grown, and to how popular the tech corridor is.”

Schniepp pointed to local high-tech and biotech firms such as Amgen, Alcatel and Homestore.com as companies that have avoided the meltdown faced by some of their Silicon Valley brethren.

Schniepp said he believes there is little that can stem the good vibes in Southern California’s economy. Job growth is expected to slow to a more modest 2% to 3% but shouldn’t create many ripples, he said. And, unless the energy crisis hits this area particularly hard, he sees few problems.

The main growth in February was in seasonal farming jobs, said analyst Dee Johnson, who prepared the report for the state Employment Development Department. That sector grew by 2,700 jobs during the month, thanks in part to the strawberry harvest.

Trade and service industries were both up by 400 jobs in the month, and manufacturing added 300 jobs. Government jobs, down about 300, accounted for many of those lost, largely due to payroll cuts in local education, Johnson said.

About 393,900 Ventura County residents were employed locally or elsewhere in February, up from 388,100 the same month last year, according to the state’s figures. Ventura County’s unemployment ranks 14th lowest among the state’s 58 counties. Los Angeles County was at 4.7%, Orange County at 2.3%, Riverside County at 4.8% and San Bernardino County at 4.4%.

Some economists warn that it may be time to begin bracing for a downturn.

“The magnitude of growth is awe-inspiring,” said Jack Kyser, chief economist at the Los Angeles Economic Development Corp. “The report is very positive, but there are a lot of indicators that say slower growth is lurking around the corner.”

A lower number of imports into the Port of Long Beach, the threat of blackouts this summer and the expected actors’ strike may cause trouble throughout Southern California, he said.

“You just have to watch, and since Edison provides your service, the tech sector has to be prepared,” he said. “You can’t sit back and say, ‘This is great, we can relax.’ ”