Unemployment Falls to 5.8%

Despite peril in the global economy, Ventura County’s jobless rate continued its drop last month to 5.8%, a full percent lower than the same time last year and the lowest unemployment rate for the month of October since 1989.

Service, financial, real estate, manufacturing and aerospace sectors added 7,400 jobs between October 1997 and 1998, according to a preliminary report released Friday by the state Employment Development Department. The agricultural sector also added 500 jobs during this period.

In the more volatile month-to-month figures, the unemployment rate dropped 0.9% from Septemberas farms hired more workers to pluck the last of the lemon crop and to plant strawberries and celery. Farm jobs increased by 1,400 during October.

While other areas have felt the impact of the Asian economic crisis, Ventura County’s economy has remained strong, said Mark Schniepp, director of the UC Santa Barbara Economic Forecast project.

“This looks like a pretty good report,� Schniepp said. “We’ve seen an increase in nonfarm jobs of 7,400 over a year, or a 3% increase, and that’s very good.

“We’ve been noting significant strength in the Ventura County employment picture,� he continued. “It does not seem to be diminished a bit by everything occurring nationwide and internationally. There is no evidence of a slowdown in [local] labor markets.�

Durable goods manufacturing, which offers high-paying jobs, was up 3.3% from this time last year, Schniepp added.

Employment in the aerospace sector lifted off during the past year, gaining 200 jobs, for a gain of 11.1%.

Those numbers don’t surprise Rocketdyne spokesman Dan Beck, who said the company has recently scooped up dozens--if not hundreds--of machinists, engineers and support staff members in Ventura and Los Angeles counties.

“Business is going very strong,� Beck said. “The commercial and government launch business is growing by leaps and bounds. We’re hoisting payloads on Delta and Atlas missiles at an unprecedented rate . . . It really doesn’t show any signs of letting up soon.�

County home sales are also soaring, helping bolster employment in the finance, insurance and real estate trades, which has grown by 10.6% since October 1997.

The county’s top industry, agriculture, also gained 500 jobs--or 3.1%--in the last year. However, Ventura County Farm Bureau Executive Director Rex Laird said agriculture payrolls will soon take a seasonal dip as the lemon industry shuts down for the winter.

“The next real peak will be in March or April, when it’s time to pick strawberries and have the avocado, lemon and celery harvest at about the same time,� Laird said.

October’s unemployment rate was the lowest reported since 1989, when it was at 4.9%. But it’s hard to predict how long the low jobless rate will last, Schniepp said.

“There’s essentially a labor shortage in coastal California for nonfarm workers,� he said. “That causes prices to get bid up and wages to grow. . . .But right now, we’re feeling such uncertainty with the international weakness that it’s hard to predict the future. My guess is this jobless rate is not sustainable. We’re likely to see things slow down.�

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Ventura County Jobless Rate

Oct. 1998:5.8%

* Source: California Employment Development Department