Jobless Rate Holds at 5.1% in June

Ventura County continued to lose jobs in construction and manufacturing in June compared with the same period last year, according to state unemployment figures released Friday.

Overall, though, the county jobless rate held steady at 5.1% compared with June 2002.

The job losses were greatest in professional and business services, which saw numbers decline by 2,500, or 6.8%, from June 2002; manufacturing, which dropped 2,300, or 5.9%; and construction, which decreased by 1,900, or 12.2%.

There also were 1,800 fewer jobs in the “other services” category, which includes auto and electronics repair and maintenance, grant writing and laundry services.

The total number of nonfarm jobs was down 2.9% in June compared with the same month last year.

The slow, but steady, erosion of such jobs in the county means businesses are not growing at a healthy clip, possibly pointing to tough times ahead if the trend does not change, said Mark Schniepp, director of the California Economic Forecast in Santa Barbara.

“Three percent is a lot,” Schniepp said. “It means we’re getting worse as we move on. We have a labor market in Ventura County that is not creating any jobs and losing year over year at a rate of 3%.”

The hardest-hit manufacturing areas were computers, electronics and telecommunications, which dropped by 14.5%.

Some of the decline reflects national trends, but Schniepp also blamed slow-growth policies in Ventura County that have prevented construction of affordable homes.

The housing shortage makes it difficult for businesses to expand, because they cannot find workers who can afford to live in the county, he said.

“There’s a lot of problems associated with the lack of jobs in coastal California,” Schniepp said. “Housing is much too high, and businesses cannot recruit an adequate number of employees to meet the needs of the labor market. The housing crisis and a lack of affordable housing is a real weakness.”

A bright spot on the county’s employment landscape was a 3.3% rise in farm-related jobs last month, compared with the previous year.

The unemployment rate was 4.8% in June 2001 and 4.4% in both 2000 and 1999. The last time the county reached a 5.1% unemployment rate was in 1998.

“The unemployment rate is staying about the same,” Schniepp said. “It’s still one of the best numbers for a June that we’ve ever seen.”

Currently, the state unemployment rate is 6.5% and the national is 6.1%.

“Relative to state and national averages, we’re still doing really well,” Schniepp said.

“The job loss is not broad-based yet, and we don’t see it affecting other places throughout the labor market. There’s not a lot of misery.”