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Losses in Government jobs, jump in SLO County unemployment rates

August 15, 2025

By KAREN VELIE

After half a year of falling unemployment, rates skyrocketed in San Luis Obispo County in July to 5.2%, the state Employment Development Department reported Friday.

While unemployment numbers climb, the size of the county workforce is increased from 133,200 in July 2024 to 134,700 in July 2025. The county unemployment rate rose from 4.8% in June 2025 to 5.2% in July 2025.

During July, job losses were seen in the government sector which lost 1,500 jobs.

In the jobs gained category, the information sector garnered 100 jobs in July.

San Luis Obispo County is ranked 13th out of 58 California counties for lower numbers of unemployed workers. SLO County’s unemployment rate is higher than the national average of 4.6% and lower than the state’s 6.1% rate.

In California, Mono County at 4.1% has the lowest unemployment rate and Imperial County comes in on the bottom with an unemployment rate of 20.2%.

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Really wish more people would understand that the “government jobs” that are first to go are the ones that often help us the most. People that pick up trash, people that operate food programs, people that provide assistance to the elderly. PEOPLE; everyday people, thay are now losing their part time low pay for only doing good in the community. It is NOT the ceos and the executives with big pay and pensions that are getting kicked out. Believe that!


2

I would love to know what government jobs were lost. Federal, State, County or Cities? And the numbers of what specific jobs. CMC? Correctional Officers? ASH? Healthcare Workers? County Social Services? Federal? Postal Workers? Social Security? National Parks? State Parks? And why were those specific jobs lost? Budget cuts due to the CA State Budget Deficit? Federal cuts due to DOGE? County due to State and Federal Cuts? Law Enforcement? Pencil Pushing Bureaucrats working from home doing basically nothing? Were these jobs providing essential services or was it just more Government Waste that needed to be cut? 1500 Government Jobs Lost tells us nothing.


5

We have all known for a long time that the government staff at their high rates of pay/benefits was not sustainable


6

There is another way of looking at this. One might say that we are now paying for government “once employees” that are now being partially funded by today’s cash flow because yesterday’s money was poorly invested. Oh yes it looked good in the past allowing for pay raises, etc. but now that money is limp and by law, we have to fund the commitments to the “once employees”. That makes it difficult to fund our once and current employees, leaving an absolute minimum for the benefit of government, like roads and services. Who would have ever thought to ask our government staff, is it ok to speculate (gamble) with tax dollars that are spoken for?


-2

Only a 1500 government job loss, there could 3x’s that and still wouldn’t be enough.


19