How's It Going? The Job Market

The nation’s economy appears to be stutter-stepping toward recovery.  Earlier this month, the federal government reported the unemployment rate dropped in December from 9.8 percent to 9.4 percent, the lowest rate since May 2009. 

Across the nation, 103,000 new jobs were created, and job seekers like Melanie Gaeta are hoping to snag one of them. The U.C. Santa Barbara graduate worked in marketing for most of the past decade. However, she’s been searching for a job since April. She has applied throughout California, including Silicon Valley and the city of Alameda.

“I see jobs I’m qualified for and I would be good at, but I’m not getting calls back,” she said.

That's not surprising given that employers hired fewer people than economists had expected, and the number of people who have given up and left the labor market rose substantially.

In Alameda County, the unemployment rates sits at 11.3 percent.  Some areas fare better than others.

Alameda has a jobless rate of 7.8 percent while Castro Valley's hovers at 6.7 percent. San Lorenzo's rate is at 8.4 percent. Newark and Union City are at about 10.5 percent. San Leandro is at 11.1 percent while the nearby Cherryland district has a rate of 16.2 percent.

Tapan Munroe, a Bay Area economist headquartered in Moraga, said the economy in general is improving. Manufacturing is returning, holiday retail sales were strong, auto sales were up 11 percent last year and consumers seem to be spending again.

“In general, people should be more optimistic about jobs,” Munroe said.

He said the East Bay should see job growth in technology industries, lab sciences and health care. However, he cautioned many of those jobs will require unemployed people to acquire new skills through training and education.

“People looking for jobs should expect to see bigger demands in those jobs,” said Munroe.

That sentiment is echoed by Lori Stone, the director of marketing for Job Train, a non-profit organization in San Mateo County that targets people with job skill barriers such as language, gang affiliations and criminal backgrounds.

The group helped 7,000 people last year, about 5 percent of those from the Alameda County area. People coming to Job Train vary in age and ethnicity. Most have been unemployed anywhere from two months to a year and a half.

“I think there is some hope, but I think it’s still really volatile. Right now, it’s still a struggle,” she said.

Stone agreed people looking for work need to think about acquiring new talents and working in new fields.

“Just because you’ve had a job for awhile and you have certain skills doesn’t mean you shouldn’t switch,” she said.

Stone said her organization expects new jobs to open up in some segments of the health care field as well as in high-tech and wireless technology.

Tina Dodson, director of the Tri-Cities One-Stop Career Center in Newark, says things are getting busier for her workers and clients.

“We’ve seen job placements go up in the last four months,” Dodson said. “It’s a big change from when our clients and workers asked, ‘What’s the point?’ ”

Tri-Cities One-Stop Career Center operates on the . According to Dodson, the center receives federally funding to help job seekers in Newark, Fremont and Union City.

Dodson says the center has resume and interview workshops that are open to the public. The center also has job coaching and networking workshops that are exclusive to its Tri-Cities clients.

“We’re feeling more hopeful in the last six months,” Dodson said.

Gaeta, who is living in San Luis Obispo right now, is more optimistic as the new year begins. Among other things, she sees more job listings.

“It’s a lot like Las Vegas,” she said. “You keep throwing the dice, hoping you’ll hit sevens and somebody will be there to see.”

Economists, in fact, are predicting a surge of jobs in health care, retail, information technology, financial services, transportation and accounting.

In Newark, Peterson Dean Roofing and Solar Systems has hired 10 people since Dec. 1. Most of those jobs have been in solar panel installation.

“Roofing has been flat and the solar panel industry has been growing significantly,” said Jay Peterson, the company’s executive vice president. “We anticipate significant growth for this year.”

Terrence Grindall, the community development director for , shares that guarded optimism. In addition to Peterson Dean Roofing, he notes Ray’s Crab Shack is opening this month and expects to hire 10 new employees.

“I think people are feeling more optimistic about the economy, but I don’t think that will translate into a major upsurge in hiring,” he said. “People are being cautiously optimistic.”