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SLO County unemployment hits low despite decrease in jobs

January 27, 2015

unemploymentSan Luis Obispo County’s unemployment rate fell last month to a more than six-year low, even though the amount of jobs in the county decreased by nearly 4,000.

The county unemployment rate dropped to 5 percent in December, marking the lowest jobless figure since April 2008. The monthly improvement in the jobless rate, though, can largely be attributed to a decline in the size of the county’s labor force.

From November to December, the labor force shrunk by 4,400 potential workers from 142,900 to 138,500. The county’s labor pool has decreased from November to December for each of the last 10 years.

In December 2014, the county lost 3,600 jobs that existed in the previous month. Employment fell from 135,100 in November to 131,500 in December.

The largest decline in employment occurred in the government sector. December concluded with 2,000 fewer government jobs in the county than in November.

The farming sector had the second highest decline, losing 700 jobs last month.

Despite last month’s decline in total employment, the unemployment rate in the county has been steadily shrinking for several years.

Following the 2008-2009 recession, unemployment in San Luis Obispo County peaked in January 2010 at 10.5 percent. The jobless rate has remained below 10 percent since August 2011.

Since then, unemployment fell to 5 percent once prior to last month, reaching the mark in May 2014. But, the jobless figure then climbed for a couple months before dropping again.

San Luis Obispo County currently has the 8th lowest unemployment rate among California’s 58 counties. Marin County has the lowest, 3.4 percent, and Imperial County has the highest, 21.0 percent.


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Smart people go where the money is.

Going to ‘work’ for minimum wage at current rates here in SLO county California is equivalent to sifting pennies out of dog poo.

People are tired of being humiliated, degraded and subjugated to the whims of moronic straw bosses.


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Pretty much.


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So what is the alternative….not working. For someone who has no job skills, little education and no experience, starting at minimum wage is very acceptable. As they acquire more skills they have the opportunity to make more money. And it is certainly better than the humiliation and degradation of accepting welfare while not working.


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Business owners given the choice of operating in “regulate me to death CA”,

or operating where there is less regulation,

will choose to do business outside the Golden State.


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People have trouble coming to the realization that they are paid exactly what they are worth, not as a human being, but what their skill set demands from the marketplace.


If you want a raise, then raise your skill level and you will get one. One can also start a business and dictate their own level of pay by the value they bring to the marketplace.


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My fellow Christians, you’re letting SLO County down by not praying for more jobs within our community! Put the cell phones down, stop watching reality shows and the “View” on TV, and get to business for the benefit of ALL SLO County!


The outcome is that all true Christians have to do is to PRAY for more jobs, and if you truly BELIEVE, they will be given.


Jesus stated; “And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, BELIEVING, ye shall receive.” (Matthew 21:22) Key word: “believe,” which triggers the prayer in a direct absolute manner. If a Christian does not get their prayer answered, then the onus is put upon them because they didn’t “believe” enough, and which can give a guilty conscience at times.


I would help in the matter of prayer for more jobs, but we’re suppose to pray in private in a closet, and since I have claustrophobia, I can’ help out in this respect (Matthew 6:5-6).


Christians of SLO County, get to work!


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Please God, send more jobs to SLO. How was that?


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achillesheal,


I am sorry, but you have to be “God Specific” to the Christian’s Hebrew God Yahweh since I was quoting from His inspired word in the bible. Then if one is a Trinity Doctrine follower, than you can pray to Jesus as God incarnate. In which way to pray, and to whom, can get very complicated at times because of the divisions of the faith.


In any event, if you can supplicate more instead of being terse, and show just a little more respect to which concept of God you’re praying too, I am sure that your prayer will move up list a lot faster.


Achillesheal, I am sure that the unemployed thanks you for your effort nonetheless.


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Ted Slanders:


Trying to show the proper respect to the judeo christian god. It’s tough for me as I worship the hawk.


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If you were at the A.G. city council meeting you would have to change that to “Please, (moment of reflection), send more jobs…… Thanks to Mayor Hill


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As my dad used to say, “pray to God, but row for the shore”.


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Statistics are used to manipulate not educate. The statistic to look at should the total amount of non-government payroll, inflation adjusted. My guess is it will not be a happy number.


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This is, I’m assuming, the U-3 number? The one that makes unemployment look less severe if/when people STOP working and looking for work? How is the U-6 number looking? I wish they’d report U1-U6, but even just U-3 and U-6 would be a bit more informative.


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Lies, damn lies and statistics. Jobs and labor force shrink and unemployment goes down because of how it’s counted.


20% of the population on food stamps and national unemployment is being celebrated at below 6% because people have given up looking for work.


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I would agree that the figures are low for the reasons you state but I really have to question the amounts you quote. Sources for that 20% figure?


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The USDA. Pretty easy to find.


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The government’s numbers on the unemployed are misleading and deceptive. The government only counts those who are collecting unemployment. Those who have given up are not counted.


Government lies a lot.


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Government, government and more government. For a list of the largest County employers check http://www.sloevc.org/files/Top%20Employers%20in%20SLO%20County.pdf


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Sure would be nice to see an update to that list!


Did you hear that some Feds want to give their own six weeks paid leave for birth, adoption, and/or foster placing? Sure sounds nice, but is not meant for public consumption… yet.


At what point do even Obama-voters realize one cannot be giving away everything?


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As Margaret Thatcher said “The problem with socialism is that eventually you run out of other people’s money”.


That said, what’s another $8T between friends?


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“Unemployment” is based on EDD figures for people collecting unemployment insurance or actively looking for work through their services. It misses people who’ve run out of insurance or just given up. So the official unemployment rate is pretty meaningless political nonsense. I know a lot of 50-somethings who lost jobs in the depression and after years of fruitless job search have just given up. Their talents are going to waste. The job prospects in this county stink. That’s the bottom line — low wages, too many people for too few jobs. Not enough jobs for the talented workforce we have here. Better off someplace else if you actually want to work and have a career, not to mention be paid what you’re worth. The side of “happy town” they don’t talk about.


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The point of the article is that the unemployed are leaving the county faster than the jobs are?


Also, for reference, it would be fun to know how many in the county are employed in agriculture (ie producers), vs in government (ie governors).


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Perhaps a government employee costs an average of $100,000/year (salary, benefits).


Perhaps an average ag employee pay 20% of his $10/hr income in taxes, for a total of $4000/year.


So, it takes 25 ag employees to fund one government employee.


Something like that.


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But, Racket, you forget that my spending is your income. Or however the saying goes. Those government employees spend money, which employs other people. Don’t be simplistic in your calculations. The fastest way to get the economy humming again is full employment, and if that employment comes from government, economically that’s just as good as if it comes from picking lettuce. Maybe better because lettuce has seasons. Many forget that plentiful steady government jobs are what’s traditionally propped up our local economy, so we don’t experience the ups and downs to the same extent as other areas. But if all the government haters win, that will diminish, and we’ll be like Bakersfield in terms of employment ups and downs, and probably a lot of other things as well.


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Maybe we should do away with the private sector and everyone can work for the government, wouldn’t that be a beautiful thing! We could all work a minimal amount at a high rate of pay with lots of perks and plenty of time off for just about everything. Of coarse the US dollar would be worthless and there would be no housing, no food and no stuff, but those are just minor technical issues that I’m sure the government will pass a law and fix.


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You’re onto something, hijinks!


It’s going to take us forever to fund the government with these puny producer jobs. We can get our funding faster if we give out $70K governance jobs! Heck, let’s give EVERYONE a $70K job – with the $14K/each we collect in taxes, we can afford to pay unemployment to all of those that don’t want the job. Brilliant!


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Seriously?


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Why work when one can freeload on welfare.


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The overall numbers are probably out there somewhere, but here’s the top 25 employers from slochamber of commerce:


http://slochamber.org/cm/Resources-Additional/Economic%20Profile/Top25Employers.html


Government employers occupy the top 4 spots and 13 of the 25. Of the 23,120 workers at the largest 25 employers, 14,800 or 64% are receiving a gubment check of some sort.


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Actually PG&e is a quasi-government entity whose income is regulated by the government and they pay employees high because the puc will just raise rates to cover the payroll


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agreed, but I left them off the count.


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From your link, it appears that the second through the fourth largest employers (CPSU, ASH, CMC — almost all well-paying jobs) are state funded which means that the majority of the funding comes from elsewhere. Who knew that we are a kind of state welfare recipient county?


From a purely selfish (& local) point of view, lost government jobs by these employers are probably hurting our economy. Maybe this is why many people vote for the party of big government. “Enlightened self interest?”


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Every county is becoming a stat welfare recipient and every state becoming a federal welfare recipient….that’s how the debt went from $10 trillion to $18 trillion in 6 years.


It’s unfathomable the way these scum in govt burn through the dollar to secure votes.


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State welfare recipient for you big govt types who feel intellectually superior by pointing out typos (slower faster).


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never mind the interest debt service for two wars 19.5% compounded quarterly


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