Local unemployment rises to 4.8 percent
By: BRADLEY J. FIKES - Staff Writer | ∞
San Diego County's unemployment rate rose in July to an estimated 4.8 percent, up from 4.6 percent in June and 4.4 percent a year ago, the California Employment Development Department reported Friday.
California's unemployment rate rose to 5.3 percent in July, from 5.2 percent in June and 4.8 percent a year ago.
Local economists Alan Gin and Kelly Cunningham said that the county's unemployment report was mixed. The increase in unemployment over a year ago was worrisome, they said, but local businesses still added more than 13,000 jobs. That's a big turnaround from last month's report, which said that only 1,600 jobs had been added locally over the last year.
The job growth reversed a trend that would have resulted in job losses, said Cunningham, of the San Diego Institute for Policy Research. A monthly report on leading economic indicators for the county by Gin has consistently predicted a slowing economy, perhaps lapsing into outright recession.
"I was pleasantly surprised," Cunningham said. "Looking at it year-over-year, (job growth) had been getting weaker and weaker until this month."
However, Gin said the rising unemployment indicated that some job losses were not being picked up in the employment numbers. And both said the slowing real estate sector continues to drag down the overall economy.
"We have conflicting signals," Gin said. "The unemployment rate is at a three-year high. We're still not out of the woods yet, as far as the economy's concerned. The unemployment rate will probably top 5 percent before the end of this year."
Gin said there are most likely hidden job losses among self-employed people, who are not represented in any company's payroll.
"You might have had some people working as real estate agents on their own, sole proprietorships, having their own businesses, and may have decided to give it up," Gin said. "Those kinds of things are picked up in the unemployment report but not in the job numbers."
Contact staff writer Bradley J. Fikes at (760) 739-6641 or bfikes@nctimes.com.
More Stories
Advertisement
Skip wrote on Aug 18, 2007 4:30 PM:If you, or someone you know is a LEGAL citizen working in construction... you are in for a doozy. Fact: For years, illegals have infiltrated the construction industry by the millions, lowering not only the wages for most skill sets, but the overall quality of work. Wages have stagnated. Good people, and more importantly citizens of the US, have been forced out because they cannot compete with the cheaters. And the Government won't do anything about it. We knew that. But now it gets interesting. The "home" industry is imploding. The economy is getting weird. The last 8-or-so years of construction and home improvement have been paid for with money that is ALL OF A SUDDEN GONE! No more home equity loans to add that Florida room, or finally fix the roof. No more flippers. No more new home construction. IT'S DONE. And it will be very very dry, for a very long time. But now we have a) American citizens, and b) ILLEGAL aliens competing for SCRAPS in a depressed, battered market.
Skip wrote on Aug 18, 2007 4:31 PM:If the illegals are allowed to stay, who do YOU think a homeowner, already strapped for cash, would hire to do those sidewalk repairs? WHO do you think the major home builders will hire to help them build that last gasp of McMansions in order to eek out whatever profit is left... or to cut their losses. WAKE UP PEOPLE! Now, more than ever, we need jobs... ALL KINDS OF JOBS to be available for the people they're MEANT FOR: AMERICANS. Jeesh.
Airborne wrote on Aug 18, 2007 4:47 PM:Demand to your senators to enact impeachment proceedings NOW! Let's connect some dots here - The Economy (Bush) Greenspan and Bernanke goes by Bushes Guidance ... - liquidity from Bush has the markets ready to collapse - liquidity flooded the banks which fueled the housing collapse - Sub Prime fiasco (Financed by the Fed) - A US very, very bad recession is right around the corner IF NOT DEPRESSION - Billions of US investor dollars lost within the last month alone in the stock market and is SCREAMING FOR A TAX PAYER BAILOUT - Billions of foreign currency lost because of the liquidity of the Fed under Bush - The cost of living is higher than the FED Chief wants us to believe (He has intentionally cooked the books) to make everything look rosy (How much are you paying for milk and the essentials) - The Rich are getting Richer; the Poor and Getting Poorer and the Middle class is being eliminated - Greedy lenders seen the Illegal Immigrants as dollar signs and now we are all paying for this mess. It all goes back to Bush
First name only. Comments including last names, contact addresses, e-mail addresses or phone numbers will be deleted. Attempts to misrepresent your identity or impersonate any person will not be approved. All comments are screened before they appear online, so please keep them brief. Comments reflect the views of those commenting and not necessarily those of the North County Times or its staff writers. Click here to view additional comment policies.
Today's Stories
Advertisement