The unemployment figures for January are out, and they are startling. About 15 percent of the population of Santa Cruz—almost one in every six people—is jobless. By way of comparison, the jobless rate in all of California is 13.2 percent; nationwide, it is 10.6 percent. According to the Employment Development Department, the figure is significantly higher than the past record, 14.6, back in 1993.
The unemployment figures for January are out, and they are startling. About 15 percent of the population of Santa Cruz—almost one in every six people—is jobless. By way of comparison, the jobless rate in all of California is 13.2 percent; nationwide, it is 10.6 percent. According to the Employment Development Department, the figure is significantly higher than the past record, 14.6, back in 1993.
While the jobless rate in December was officially 13.3 percent, this is actually misleading. Official figures claimed that 600 government jobs were added that month, when the number actually dropped by 100 jobs. Another 200 government jobs were lost in January, along with 600 jobs in retail and construction and over 2,000 jobs in agriculture.
A survey of all sectors of the economy shows that jobs are down everywhere in Santa Cruz, except for Information and Financial Services. Yet even in these two sectors, the number of employed people remained steady, and did not show any increase. Read more at the Santa Cruz Sentinel.
