The high cost of living coupled with a lack of jobs means Santa Cruz County is the hardest hit in the greater Bay Area.
A report released yesterday by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that unemployment is surging in the Greater Bay Area, with the jobless rate for Silicon Valley at 11.9 percent and for San Francisco at 10.6 percent. Santa Cruz remains the hardest hit county in the region. According to an as-yet unpublished report by the United Way, one in four families in the county is struggling. According to the report, for a family to make its minimal requirements—termed the “self-sufficiency standard,” it must bring in at least $57,637, and for many that means holding at least four minimum wage jobs. About 28 percent of families do not meet that criteria.
Officials claim that the problem results from a relatively high cost of living in Santa Cruz, along with a dearth of good-paying jobs. Denise Gammal of the United Way in San Francisco explains, “We can’t just worry about getting people placed into jobs. It’s about getting people placed in the right thing with a career ladder.” The problem is that in Santa Cruz those jobs simply don’t exist. Read more at the Santa Cruz Sentinel.
